Make Your Point: ABRASIVE

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pronounce ABRASIVE:

uh BRAY siv

connect this word to others:

Our word abrasive is based on the Latin radere, "to scrape," just like rash, erase, razor, and ra__ ("to tear down completely, as if scraping away every last bit").

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

Let's start with the word "abrade," which has Latin bits that literally mean "to scrape away." (The prefix "ab" means "away," and the rest is based on radere, "to scrape.")

To abrade something is to wear it away by rubbing it or scraping it off.

And an abrasion is a scrape, or a place that's been scraped.

So, something abrasive tends to damage things by scraping them, or in a figurative sense, tends to be annoying, as if scraping harshly against people's senses or feelings.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Adjective: "Fran Drescher is famous for her abrasive laugh. It's loud, nasal, and off-putting."

Other forms:

The adverb is "abrasively," as in "Her laugh is abrasively nasal."

how to use it:

Use the formal, common, negative word "abrasive" to complain about people and things that seem to scrape unpleasantly against you (or your ears, or your mind).

You might talk about abrasive people, personalities, attitudes, sounds, voices, or comments.

examples:

"The characters are either adorably cute or abrasively cartoonish, and often both."
— Ben Brantley, New York Times, 18 April 2010

"Senior aides have adopted Cuomo's abrasive approach, berating journalists and lawmakers who question the administration."
— David Klepper, Seattle Times, 5 March 2021

has this page helped you understand "abrasive"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "abrasive" without saying "obnoxious" or "irritating."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "I know (some song, singer, musical group, or musical genre) has a lot of fans, but it strikes me as abrasive when (something specific happens in the music)."

Example: "I know Billy Currington has a lot of fans, but it strikes me as abrasive when he goes 'Hey girl, whatcha think, girl? You look a little thirsty; lemme go getcha something to drink, girl' because, you know, earlier in the song he asked her for her name and now presumably knows it."

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "Recapitate the Headlines."

I'll give you some real but decapitated headlines, along with a selection of heads, and you try to reassemble them as they were originally published. (Or, feel free to play in "wrong answers only" mode, assembling the headlines in whatever way you find funniest.) You can check out some examples here.

Try these today:

__________ a widespread slur for robots
__________ just "good friends"
__________ Ozzy Osbourne

It's 2025, the year we decided we need
Nintendo insists Mario and Princess Peach are
Petition launched to rename Birmingham airport after

To see the correct versions, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. The opposite of ABRASIVE could be

A. RESPLENDENT (brilliantly beautiful).
B. EMOLLIENT (having a softening, soothing effect).
C. VIRULENT (so mean or bitter that it seems poisonous).

2. Salty winds by the ocean can be abrasive, _____.

A. stimulating your appetite
B. filling you with a sense of peace
C. causing damage to your car's paint job

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
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A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ABRASIVE

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