abrasive

CEFRC2

/əˈbɹeɪ.sɪv/

adjective · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Able to rub away or scratch another surface.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    A hard inorganic substance or material consisting in powder or granule form such as sandpaper, pumice, or emery, used for cleaning, smoothing, or polishing.

Examples

  • The abrasive cleanser damaged the surface of the bathtub.

  • Do you think I'm abrasive?

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
1
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • /əˈbɹeɪ.zɪv/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Being rough and coarse in manner or disposition; overly aggressive and causing irritation.

  2. Producing abrasion; rough enough to wear away the outer surface.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. Rock fragments, sand grains, mineral particles, used by water, wind, and ice to abrade a land surface.

More examples

In context

  • He was being very abrasive.

  • An abrasive person can grate on one's sensibilities.

  • Despite her proper upbringing, we found her manners to be terribly abrasive.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Her blank tone during the meeting offended several colleagues who left early.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

Borrowed from Medieval Latin abrāsīvus.