1
as in bitterness
a harsh or sharp quality
doesn't like the asperity of most experimental music
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in severity
biting sharpness of feeling or expression
she responded with such asperity that we knew she was deeply offended by the question
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in hardship
something that is a cause for suffering or special effort especially in the attainment of a goal
as a physically challenged person, he has encountered more than his share of asperities on the road to success
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of asperity
Robin Waterfield’s Aesop’s Fables: A New Translation (Basic Books, $30) renders them in all their feral, fatalistic glory—bursts of Hobbesian asperity with dubious, sometimes conflicting, morals.
—
Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 22 Aug. 2024
Advertisement On a re-read, Orwell’s narrative holds up, in large part due to the asperity of the prose and the prescient description of how fascism can creep into any society that takes freedom for granted.
—Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023
Her asperity has brought upon her the full flaming rage of the Twittersphere.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 2 Oct. 2022
By the time Keane wrote Devoted Ladies, a note of asperity had crept into her fiction.
—Francine Prose, The New York Review of Books, 22 Nov. 2018
Imagine Don Draper’s grasp of American psychopathology delivered with the pithy asperity of Emily Dickinson.
—Megan O’Grady, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2020
Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 22 Aug. 2024
Advertisement On a re-read, Orwell’s narrative holds up, in large part due to the asperity of the prose and the prescient description of how fascism can creep into any society that takes freedom for granted.
—Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023
Her asperity has brought upon her the full flaming rage of the Twittersphere.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 2 Oct. 2022
By the time Keane wrote Devoted Ladies, a note of asperity had crept into her fiction.
—Francine Prose, The New York Review of Books, 22 Nov. 2018
Imagine Don Draper’s grasp of American psychopathology delivered with the pithy asperity of Emily Dickinson.
—Megan O’Grady, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for asperity
Noun
-
Growing up in Florida as the son of Nicaraguan immigrants, Edgar Palacios saw the hardships his parents faced in pursuit of a better life for their family.—
J.M. Banks,
Kansas City Star,
12 Apr. 2025
-
The lawsuit specifically cites City Schools’ hardship, pointing to the district’s need to cut other projects and programs to cover the budget gap.—
Racquel Bazos,
Baltimore Sun,
11 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The Karman Line, located 62 miles above Earth, demarcates the edge of space.—
Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Six female celebs — including pop songstress Katy Perry, journalist Gayle King and Jeff Bezos’s fiancée, author Lauren Sánchez — are slated to blast off Monday morning in a Blue Origin rocket headed for the edge of space.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Type 2 diabetes treatments can vary based on the severity of your condition, your lifestyle, and your overall health.—
Julia Ries,
Health,
9 Apr. 2025
-
In some studies, Vitamin A has been shown to reduce the severity of measles and the risk of death from the virus — but these studies were among highly malnourished populations in low-income countries.—
Sara Moniuszko,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Rather than reviewing all material equally, these tools can identify specific question types causing difficulty, allowing for targeted intervention precisely where it's needed most.—
Dr. Aviva Legatt,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
-
The whale, rarely seen in the area, exhibited signs of severe sunburn, breathing difficulties and unusual behavior.—
Terry Collins,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The fight ends with Shauna taking a bite out of Melissa’s arm, pinning her down and demanding Melissa eat her own flesh.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Mar. 2025
-
The site of the leech bite was treated, and the farmer was given iron supplements to take for a month to manage his anemia, doctors said.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Stolarz’s inclination to shout instructions at teammates on the ice, often with serious levels of hostility in the name of competition, comes to him naturally.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
-
Datta writes that Indians had faced violent treatment at the hands of Japanese forces, even if the Chinese community bore the brunt of the Japanese hostility.—
H.M.A. Leow,
JSTOR Daily,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
In Canada, modest supply management policies keep farmgate and farmer pay prices higher, while disincentivizing the buildout of fast-paced, crowded and large scale production facilities at the heart of avian flu virulence.—
Errol Schweizer,
Forbes,
24 Mar. 2025
-
Everything about the movement surprised political observers: its virulence, its magnitude, its provincial origins, its apparent lack of structure and leadership, and its adamant refusal to be co-opted by existing political parties and unions.—
Arthur Goldhammer,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Dec. 2018
Noun
-
The third element of the trio is Mary Flynn, played by the terrific Lindsey Mendez, a 2018 Tony winner for Carousel, with a natural warmth that offsets the character’s growing acerbity.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
12 Dec. 2022
-
The Brodie books demonstrate her great facility with genre, pairing pulse-quickening suspense with Atkinson’s distinctive blend of puckishness and acerbity.—
Sarah Chihaya,
The New Yorker,
16 Oct. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Asperity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asperity. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share