Asperity

Pronunciation: /əˈsperəti/

Definitions of asperity

noun harshness or severity, especially in tone or manner

Example Sentences

A1 The teacher spoke to the students with kindness and patience, without any asperity.

A2 She was surprised by the asperity of his tone when he spoke to her.

B1 The manager's asperity towards his employees was starting to affect morale in the workplace.

B2 Despite his usual asperity, he showed a rare moment of kindness towards his colleague.

C1 The politician's asperity in his speeches often alienated potential supporters.

C2 Her asperity towards her critics only served to further damage her reputation.

Examples of asperity in a Sentence

formal The asperity of his tone indicated his displeasure with the situation.

informal She didn't appreciate the asperity in his voice when he criticized her work.

slang The asperity in her words was a real buzzkill for the party.

figurative The asperity of winter's chill bit into their bones as they trudged through the snow.

Grammatical Forms of asperity

• past tense: aspered
• plural: asperities
• comparative: more asperity
• superlative: most asperity
• present tense: asper
• future tense: will asper
• perfect tense: have aspered
• continuous tense: is aspering
• singular: asperity
• positive degree: asper
• infinitive: to asper
• gerund: aspering
• participle: aspered

Origin and Evolution of asperity

First Known Use: 1400 year

Language of Origin: Latin

Story behind the word: The word 'asperity' originated from the Latin word 'asperitas', which means roughness or harshness.

Evolution of the word: Over time, the word 'asperity' has retained its original meaning of roughness or harshness, but it has also come to be used metaphorically to describe a person's manner or speech as being sharp or severe.