Meaning & use
abrasive person
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountabledisapproving
a person whose rough, harsh manner offends or annoys other people
Grammar: Countable: an abrasive person, two abrasive people; the plural of person here is people or persons.
Patterns
- an abrasive person
- be abrasive to someone
- come across as an abrasive person
The new manager is an abrasive person who rarely says please or thank you.
She can seem like an abrasive person at first, but she is kind once you know her.
He was an abrasive person in meetings, and several colleagues avoided him.
phrasefixed phrasedisapproving
used to describe someone's style of speaking or behaving as harsh and unfriendly
Grammar: Often used after be or seem: He is an abrasive person. It describes the person, not a single action.
Patterns
- be an abrasive person
- seem like an abrasive person
Her emails sound like they were written by an abrasive person, even when she means well.
Customers thought he was an abrasive person because of his blunt questions.
Word forms
| plural | abrasive people |
|---|---|
| plural | abrasive persons |
Common combinations
- an abrasive manner
- His abrasive manner made the interview uncomfortable.
- an abrasive tone
- She answered in an abrasive tone that surprised everyone.
- come across as abrasive
- He comes across as abrasive, but he is just shy.
- an abrasive personality
- An abrasive personality can make teamwork difficult.
Synonyms and how they differ
- harsh
- Harsh describes words or treatment that are severe; abrasive focuses more on the person's effect on others.
- blunt
- Blunt means saying exactly what you think; it can be neutral, while abrasive is always negative.
- rude
- Rude means showing no respect; abrasive is about a rough style that wears people down.
Opposites
Word family
- abrasively adverb
- in a rough, harsh manner
- abrasiveness noun
- the quality of being harsh or rough
Commonly confused: abrasive person or abrasive?
abrasive person vs abrasive
Abrasive alone can mean a rough material that rubs surfaces; abrasive person is only about behavior.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'abrasive person' correctly?
Choose one answer.
An abrasive person has a harsh manner that upsets others, so sentence 2 fits. Sentence 1 is positive, which does not match the negative label. Sentence 3 describes texture, not a personality. Sentence 4 uses abrasive as a cleaning material, not about a person.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “abrasive person”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.