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
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Recent Examples of rasp
Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2025
Villanueva has a powerful voice and a feel for Tina's growls, rasps and embellishments.
—Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2024
Roger Sands, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
Starring opposite Nicolas Cage, who is Longlegs’ titular menace—a disfigured, rasping serial killer with mysterious means to his ends—Monroe plays Lee Harker, a talented and reserved FBI recruit whose cryptic psychic abilities give her strange insight into her target’s methods.
—Megan McCluskey, TIME, 10 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for rasp
Noun
But her voice never sounded more eerie, with her vampire-queen rasp over Ellis’ eerie electronics.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2025
Villanueva has a powerful voice and a feel for Tina's growls, rasps and embellishments.
—Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2024
Verb
The cucumbers should be rasped and cut in half lengthwise.
—Roger Sands, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
Starring opposite Nicolas Cage, who is Longlegs’ titular menace—a disfigured, rasping serial killer with mysterious means to his ends—Monroe plays Lee Harker, a talented and reserved FBI recruit whose cryptic psychic abilities give her strange insight into her target’s methods.
—Megan McCluskey, TIME, 10 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for rasp
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rasp
Noun
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Here’s how: Instead of developing a general-purpose AI from scratch, new models will extract relevant medical knowledge from existing large language models (just like DeepSeek did using distillation).—
Robert Pearl,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
-
Jarren Duran was slated to make his spring debut on Sunday but was a late scratch due to a sore calf.—
Mac Cerullo,
Hartford Courant,
23 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Clean both hands between the fingers and fingertips, then rub the back of your fingers against your palms.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
17 Feb. 2025
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Someone in your network may rub you the wrong way today.—
USA TODAY,
USA TODAY,
16 Feb. 2025
Verb
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When the piece is over, my friend scrapes her bow down the strings, and Millie howls with laughter.—
Danilyn Rutherford,
TIME,
22 Feb. 2025
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The 1987/88 champ, scraping past Juventus to keep its hopes intact, has been a dominant force in the Netherlands lately, accruing 91 points to win the Eredivisie last campaign and only recently overtaken by a resurgent first-place Ajax this domestic season.—
Henry Flynn,
Forbes,
21 Feb. 2025
Verb
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He's heard perhaps the university chancellor at the time of the formula's creation annoyed the wrong person, and UW-Whitewater has been shorted ever since.—
Kelly Meyerhofer,
Journal Sentinel,
19 Feb. 2025
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There was nothing quite like watching Ted win the hearts of everyone around him, from the woman who literally set him up to fail, Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) to the ready-to-retire and always annoyed Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein).—
EW.com,
EW.com,
19 Feb. 2025
Verb
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As the United States waged war in Vietnam in the 1960s, the Supreme Court said a Des Moines high school could not prevent students from wearing black armbands in support of a truce.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA TODAY,
17 Feb. 2025
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Most of the group had covered faces, some wore balaclavas.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
16 Feb. 2025
Noun
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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
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Gracey gets an astonishing amount across in the details: the goofy creak of a leather jumpsuit, a camera angle tilted to show the utterly unspectacular pulley system that yanked Williams upside-down in front of a crowd of 125,000.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The Reset members will go onto the April 1 consolidated election, but no other candidates have filed.—
Michelle Mullins,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Feb. 2025
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In May 2024, McIlroy filed for divorce but withdrew the filing a month later.—
Jordana Comiter,
People.com,
25 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Hackman is a detective who specializes in audio surveillance, spying on and bugging strangers, a wiretapper capturing them in incriminating secrets, yet unable to empathize or bond with any real-life humans.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
27 Feb. 2025
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Ahead of the trial, Sherborne alleged the newspapers had used deception to obtain his clients' medical, phone and flight records, as well as bugging homes and placing listening devices into cars.—
Max Taylor,
NBC News,
22 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rasp.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rasp. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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