raspy

adjective

ˈra-spē 

raspier; raspiest

1

: harsh, grating

2

: irritable

Synonyms

• choleric
• crabby
• cranky
• cross
• crotchety
• fiery
• grouchy
• grumpy
• irascible
• irritable
• peevish
• perverse
• pettish
• petulant
• prickly
• quick-tempered
• ratty
• short-tempered
• snappish
• snappy
• snarky
• snippety
• snippy
• stuffy
• testy
• waspish

Examples of raspy in a Sentence

Her voice was raspy from yelling so much.

overwork tends to make him raspy

Recent Examples on the Web

Blige’s voice has become more raspy with time, and instead of finding material that suits it, Good Morning Gorgeous surrounds Blige with loud distractions like drill beats and DJ Khaled ad-libs. —Al Shipley, SPIN, 26 Nov. 2024

Singer Richard Butler remained a magnetic presence with his distinctive raspy vocals and was accompanied by his brother Tim’s stalwart bass work. —David Chiu, Forbes, 6 Oct. 2024

Huddleston brings a gregarious energy to the role — a sort of Santa-as-Kenny Rogers down-home father figure with a raspy voice and a sincere love of children. —Katie Rife, Vulture, 16 Nov. 2024

Lawrence’s raspy singing voice has become the audio for the trend, with many TikTok users confessing to not even recognizing Sinatra’s version of the track. —Sara Belcher, People.com, 26 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

raspy

adjective

ˈras-pē 

raspier; raspiest

: making a harsh grating sound

a raspy voice