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
He overcame 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
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
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for asperity
Noun
-
The state said Hollis was wrong for harboring bitterness toward him.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
27 Apr. 2026
-
In addition to the scallions, half a cup of whole parsley leaves adds a grassy depth and pleasant bitterness to this salad.—
Martha Stewart,
Martha Stewart,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Despite the severity of the South Carolina outbreak, Edwards considers the public health response a success.—
Tanya Lewis,
Scientific American,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The actual severity of any shortcomings at OpenAI and how far any weaknesses could spread remain open questions, Yardeni said.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Economic hardship and devaluations of the rial were key factors behind major anti-government protests at the start of the year.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The government says the hardship is the consequence of an unjust war inflicted on Iranians by the US and Israel.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
On the eastern edge of the state, Sioux Falls is best known for Falls Park, where the Big Sioux River spills over wide stretches of pink quartzite rock.—
Midwest Living,
Midwest Living,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Rainwater tends to accumulate at the road edges.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But the chancellor struggled to imagine how such an end of hostilities could be reached that would satisfy the White House.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The hostility to literature felt by some of the architects of the Red Scare is well established.—
Charlie Tyson,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The 18th Street Station has a lot of stairs, so passengers with difficulty using stairs should use the McCormick Place station.—
Doug Ross,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Low-mass stars such as red dwarfs vastly outnumber high-mass stars, a distribution astronomers call the 'initial mass function', but why this should be weighted towards lower-mass stars is uncertain — and certainly not helped by the difficulties in observing their growth.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Two Boys Fighting Over a Bladder (circa 1767–1770) suggests that the latter view has bite.—
Julian Bell,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
-
The wing’s bark pairs with plenty of bite.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
To predict how an outbreak will progress, epidemiologists often use stock-and-flow diagrams: illustrations featuring stocks of people (susceptible, infected, recovered, dead) and arrows showing flows between them based on factors such as exposure or virulence.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Genes involved in adaptation, such as those linked to virulence, metabolism or host interaction, also move with them.—
Lily Peck,
The Conversation,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Asperity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asperity. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
