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
-
There was no detectable bitterness in his voice.—
Pierre LeBrun,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
-
This matters because fermentation reduces bitterness and makes plant compounds, especially polyphenols, more available.—
Dr. Steven Gundry,
CNBC,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
Plus as climate change accelerates the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, this gap is becoming one of the most significant and underappreciated risks to global financial stability.—
Nina Seega,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2026
-
Its severity was rated S1, the second-highest classification.—
Jeremy Hsu,
ArsTechnica,
20 May 2026
Noun
-
The project comes on the heels of filmmaker Nina Lee and Will Packer discussing the rarity of You, Me & Tuscany alongside the hardships and hurdles that Black romance films must overcome in the industry from conception to funding to box office.—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
19 May 2026
-
Traditional debt forgiveness programs, for example, are often designed for borrowers experiencing serious financial hardship who are already significantly delinquent on multiple accounts.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
The stalemate that existed has been broken, and the Republicans now seem likely to obtain a meaningful edge heading into the midterms.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
15 May 2026
-
Among the various aspects of the movie that its English title refers to, not least is the unhinged rampage Lina unleashes at a couple of schoolgirls, a gringa loca on the razor’s edge.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
The onset of hostilities was enough to persuade around a hundred and eighty Democrats to support the measure.—
Jason Zengerle,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
As swirling rumors and escalating fears mount of imminent US-Israeli strikes, there is a growing sense of inevitability among many Iranians about the resumption of hostilities.—
Matthew Chance,
CNN Money,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
When resolution was difficult, leisure travelers reported higher difficulty rates than business or mixed-purpose travelers, likely because frequent flyers have more experience navigating the system.—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
19 May 2026
-
Postpartum depression, per Mayo Clinic, includes symptoms such as depressed mood, difficulty bonding with your baby, changes in appetite, intense irritability and more.—
Raven Brunner,
PEOPLE,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
Located on the roof of the Hyatt Centric hotel, the bar has curated cocktails, and offers an array of bites from sister restaurant 7th Street Standard on the street level of the hotel, including chicken tandoori lollipops and charred rapini flatbread.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
15 May 2026
-
Cucumber Tea Sandwiches and mini quiche bites are easy to grab individually and provide substance to the picnic.—
Kylie Petty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
15 May 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
-
Flu has overtaken covid in infections and hospitalizations during the winter respiratory virus season, and their virulence is becoming similar.—
Fenit Nirappil,
Washington Post,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Asperity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asperity. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
