2 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Asperity \As*per"i*ty\, n.; pl {Asperities}. [L. asperitas fr
asper rough: cf F. asp['e]rit['e].]
1. Roughness of surface; unevenness; -- opposed to
{smoothness}. ``The asperities of dry bodies.'' --Boyle.
2. Roughness or harshness of sound; that quality which grates
upon the ear; raucity.
3. Roughness to the taste; sourness; tartness.
4. Moral roughness; roughness of manner; severity;
crabbedness; harshness; -- opposed to {mildness}.
``Asperity of character.'' --Landor.
It is no very cynical asperity not to confess
obligations where no benefit has been received.
--Johnson.
5. Sharpness; disagreeableness; difficulty.
The acclivities and asperities of duty. --Barrow.
Syn: Acrimony; moroseness; crabbedness; harshness; sourness;
tartness. See {Acrimony}.
From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]:
asperity
n 1: something hard to endure; "the asperity of northern winters"
[syn: {grimness}, {hardship}, {rigor}, {rigour}, {severity},
{rigorousness}]
2: harshness of manner [syn: {sharpness}] [ant: {dullness}]
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