ASPERITY • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Asperity

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/əspˈɛrɪti/ Listen

noun

Asperity n. (pl. asperities)

Roughness of surface; unevenness; opposed to smoothness. "The asperities of dry bodies."

Roughness or harshness of sound; that quality which grates upon the ear; raucity.

Roughness to the taste; sourness; tartness.

Moral roughness; roughness of manner; severity; crabbedness; harshness; opposed to mildness. "Asperity of character." "It is no very cynical asperity not to confess obligations where no benefit has been received."

Sharpness; disagreeableness; difficulty. "The acclivities and asperities of duty."

Synonyms: Acrimony; moroseness; crabbedness; harshness; sourness; tartness. See Acrimony.

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Etymology of 'Asperity'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Asperity" Quotes from Famous Books

... Justice," were held in such abhorrence that the fact that he approved of Mary's conduct was reason enough for the multitude to disapprove of it. His book, therefore, was not a success as far as Mary's reputation was concerned. Indeed, it increased rather than lessened the asperity of her detractors. It was greeted by the "European Magazine" for April, 1798, almost immediately after its publication, by one of the most scathing denunciations of Mary's character which ...

— Mary Wollstonecraft • Elizabeth Robins Pennell

... substantial Lowland wealth, who would dare to insult Upper Canada with the official presence, as its ruler, of such an equivocal character as this Mr. What-do-they-call-him—Francis Bond Head." Ever and anon the Tory press retorted on him in a spirit by no means calculated to soften the asperity of his heart. The most contemptuous epithets were freely bestowed upon him, and he was from time to time taunted with his humble origin. It seems almost unnecessary to say that those who indulged in such taunts as these had very little ...

— The Story of the Upper Canada Rebellion, Volume 1 • John Charles Dent

... out of patience with her more tender sister, yet at this moment her love and her patriotism—by which is meant her heart and soul—were violently in conflict. Fearing lest the former might prevail, she replied with greater asperity: ...

— Where the Souls of Men are Calling • Credo Harris

... my sorrowful plight," said the bruised Ricardo, with some asperity; "I have met with dangers of venomous serpents, and been stabbed ...

— Captain Brand of the "Centipede" • H. A. (Henry Augustus) Wise

... then," and Stannard spoke with a certain asperity, "that Mr. Harris, with just two or three scouts, has gone out hunting on his own hook?—that even 'Tonio ...

— Tonio, Son of the Sierras - A Story of the Apache War • Charles King

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