asperity.

1. A sharp, severe, or irritable quality in speech, tone, or behavior.

2. A rough or uneven quality in a surface, or a small uneven feature on it.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• speak with asperity
• asperity of tone

On the page

He answered with an asperity that silenced the room.

The asperity in her tone betrayed how little patience remained.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Usually uncountable; plural asperities for specific harshnesses or rough features. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.