a·bra·sive

[uh-brey-siv, -ziv]
noun
1.
any material or substance used for grinding, polishing, etc., as emery, pumice, or sandpaper.
adjective
2.
tending to abrade; causing abrasion; abrading.
3.
tending to annoy or cause ill will; overly aggressive: an abrasive personality.

Origin:
1870–75; < Latin abrās(us) (see abrasion) + -ive

a·bra·sive·ly, adverb
a·bra·sive·ness, noun
un·a·bra·sive, adjective
un·a·bra·sive·ly, adverb


2. harsh, rough, rasping.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To abrasive
00:10
Abrasive is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Collins
World English Dictionary
abrasive (əˈbreɪsɪv) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a substance or material such as sandpaper, pumice, or emery, used for cleaning, grinding, smoothing, or polishing
 
adj
2.  causing abrasion; grating; rough
3.  irritating in manner or personality; causing tension or annoyance
 
a'brasiveness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

abrasive
1853, n., "an abrasive substance," from L. abrasus, pp. of abradere (see abrasion); the adj. is attested from 1875; fig. sense of "tending to provoke anger" is first recorded 1925.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

abrasive a·bra·sive (ə-brā'sĭv, -zĭv)
adj.
Causing abrasion. n.
A material used to produce abrasion.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Example sentences
Hopes that she would be more moderate than her abrasive husband were quickly
  dashed.
Wet abrasive blast cleaning is a modification of traditional open abrasive
  blast cleaning.
Her charm was more often perceived as abrasive, her diplomacy tone-deaf.
He could also come across as abrasive and self-important.
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