1
as in to rub
to make smooth by friction
after sawing the board in half, rasp the ends to remove any splinters
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in to annoy
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts
the two siblings seemed intent on rasping each other for the entire car trip
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to wear
to damage or diminish by continued friction
during the last ice age, glaciers rasped the surface, leaving the deeply scarred rock
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 rasp
Erica Sloan, SELF, 13 Feb. 2025
Vernon also lent his signature rasp to collaborations with some of the biggest stars in music, from Taylor Swift, Travis Scott, and Charli XCX.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 11 Feb. 2025
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 20 Sep. 2024
What endures is the rasping byplay, the soaring exasperation, the tango of opposing temperaments finding fleeting common ground.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for rasp
Noun
In this case, there’s not much in the way of medication that can help; Dr. Mercado notes that OTC drugs haven’t actually been proven effective for softening a bad rasp.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 13 Feb. 2025
Vernon also lent his signature rasp to collaborations with some of the biggest stars in music, from Taylor Swift, Travis Scott, and Charli XCX.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 11 Feb. 2025
Verb
And then Elisabeth uses it, and her spine splits open, leaving her a rasping husk of flesh while an alternate self rises, in the dewy buff, to survey her taut flesh with a clinical eye in the mirror.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 20 Sep. 2024
What endures is the rasping byplay, the soaring exasperation, the tango of opposing temperaments finding fleeting common ground.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for rasp
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rasp
Noun
-
Nearly 80 Tesla vehicles parked outside the dealership had been damaged, including deep scratches and punctured tires, police relayed in a news release.—
Kate Gibson,
CBS News,
20 Mar. 2025
-
Two weeks to design a team from scratch that could win in the brutally competitive Big Ten Conference and return Maryland to the NCAA Tournament.—
Childs Walker,
Baltimore Sun,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
And yet, in this case, the notion of human improvement rubs me the wrong way.—
Jaron Lanier,
The New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2025
-
The herbed butter rubbed onto the corn cobs is what really makes this recipe magic.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
The right wing then scraped the ground and broke off at the fuselage, releasing a cloud of jet fuel that caught fire as the airplane overturned and moved down the runway.—
David Schaper,
NPR,
20 Mar. 2025
-
The agent scrapes Google News and other sources for the latest updates and news that might interest his subscribers.—
Aytekin Tank,
Forbes,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Waltz now has a bunch of top officials, and their teams, who are annoyed at him for drawing bad publicity.—
Marc Caputo,
Axios,
25 Mar. 2025
-
However, standing in the middle of a road to capture the Eiffel Tower in the background is not only unsafe but can also annoy locals.—
Rebecca Ann Hughes,
Forbes,
16 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Others wear sweatshorts and the pirate-like Raiders jerseys of our city’s former football team.—
George B. Sánchez-Tello,
Rolling Stone,
23 Mar. 2025
-
In the selfie, Lizzo wore a gray graphic T-shirt and a pair of black underwear.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
People.com,
23 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
The set is a ship’s deck that tilts and creaks ominously while a screen plays eerily textured footage of a roiling ocean.—
Houman Barekat,
New York Times,
24 Feb. 2025
-
The boat moves and creaks, the sails flutter in the wind, and the crew gives a lusty hurrah as the course is set for Singapore.—
John Bleasdale,
Variety,
21 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Although no felony charges were filed, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office later charged Urias with five misdemeanors: spousal battery, two counts of domestic battery involving a dating relationship, one county of false imprisonment, and one count of assault.—
Dan Schlossberg,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
-
Baldoni has denied these allegations and filed his own $400 million defamation suit against Lively.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Ferrell bugs his eyes out and sighs a series of increasingly desperate spit-takes, but this project was probably doomed from the get-go.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
4 Feb. 2025
-
The movie's famous final scene sees Hackman's character playing the saxophone after his paranoia has led him to destroy his entire apartment to see if it was bugged.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA TODAY,
27 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rasp.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rasp. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share