abrasive
uh-BRAY-siv · adjective
Rough enough to scrape a surface; harsh or irritating in manner.
Memory connection
Picture “a bray sieve”
A coarse metal sieve scrapes your palm while producing a donkey-like bray. It is abrasive in both texture and sound.
The sound cue helps you reach the scene; the action in the scene carries you from the scene to the definition.
Use it accurately
Meaning in context
His abrasive response made a routine disagreement feel personal.
The cleaner is too abrasive for the polished stone surface.
Abrasive can be literal, like sandpaper, or figurative, describing speech and behavior that rub people the wrong way.
Common patterns
- abrasive manner
- abrasive material
- sound abrasive
Quick check
Can you retrieve the meaning?
Which person sounds abrasive?
Choose an answer, then explain it in your own words.