aspect

Syllables: as·pect/ˈæspɛkt/

aspect noun: any specific feature, part, or element of something.

Noun

aspect (plural aspects)

Any specific feature, part, or element of something.
- Japan's aging population is an important aspect of its economy.
Synonyms:

component, facet, feature
The way something appears when viewed from a certain direction or perspective.
- The stone has a greenish aspect in this light.
- Given the limitations of planar representation[…] The painter is constantly forced to choose one aspect over the other.1991, William Dunning, Changing Images of Pictorial Space: A History of Spatial Illusion in Painting, page 36
Synonyms:

hue
The way something appears when considered from a certain point of view.
- in certain aspects [ = in certain respects]
- “Perspective” can be understood in different ways. It can mean a single aspect from which something is considered or evaluated; it can also mean a view from a relation between aspects of a subject.2016, Chenyang Li, “Care and justice: Reading Mencius, Kant, and Gilligan comparatively”, in Ann A. Pang-White, editor, The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Chinese Philosophy and Gender, page 128
Synonyms:

respect, front
A phase or a partial, but significant view or description of something.
One's appearance or expression.
- Art thou but Captaine of a thouſand horſe,
  That by Characters grauen in thy browes,
  And by thy martiall face and ſtout aſpect,
  Deſeru’ſt to haue the leading of an hoſte?c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
- In Knots they ſtand, or in a Rank they Walk, / Serious in Aſpect, earneſt in their Talk: […]1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, book III, page 66
Synonyms:

appearance, look, blee
Position or situation with regard to seeing; that position which enables one to look in a particular direction; position in relation to the points of the compass.
- The house has a southern aspect, i.e. a position which faces the south.
Prospect; outlook.
- This town affords a good aspect toward the hill from whence we descended ; nor does it deceive us ; for it is handsomely built […]1643 November 10 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for November 1643]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume...
A grammatical quality of a verb which determines the relationship of the speaker to the internal temporal flow of the event which the verb describes, or whether the speaker views the event from outside as a whole, or from within as it is unfolding.
The relative position of heavenly bodies as they appear to an observer on earth; the angular relationship between points in a horoscope.
- […] To the blanc moon / Her office they prescribed; to the other five / Their planetary motions, and aspects, / In sextile, square, and trine, and opposite, / Of noxious efficacy, and when to join / In synod unbenign; and taught the fix'd / their influence malignant when to shower, / Which of them...1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- Kepler (the Lyncæus of the laſt Age) defines an Aſpect in this manner: Aſpectus eſt Angulus à Radiis Luminoſis binorum Planetarum in terra formatus, efficax ad ſtimulandum naturam ſublunarem. It is (ſaith he) an Angle made in the Earth by the Luminous Beams of two Planets, of ſtrength to ſtir up...1683, George Wharton, “Of the Planetary Aspects, both Old and New, their Characters, and Æquations”, in John Gadbury, editor, The Works of that Late Most Excellent Philosopher and Astronomer, Sir...
The personified manifestation of a deity that represents one or more of its characteristics or functions.
- The Mother Goddess in her many manifestations is termed Shakti, the female energy in creation, and worshipped as the supreme female aspect of Brahman.1995, V.P. Kanitkar, W. Owen Cole, Hinduism — An Introduction
(obsolete) The act of looking at something; gaze.
- The tradition is no less ancient, that the basilisk killeth by aspect ; and that the wolf, if he see a man first, by aspect striketh a man hoarse.1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted...
- […] his aspect was bent on the ground with an appearance of deep dejection, which might be almost construed into apathy, […]1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter I, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst...
(obsolete) Appearance to the eye or the mind; look; view.
- They are both in my judgment the image or picture of a great Ruine, and have the true aspect of a World lying in its rubbish.1684-1690, Thomas Burnet, Sacred Theory of the Earth Vol 1, Chapter IX.
- Three days later he opened the parliament. The aspect of affairs was, on the whole, cheering.1851, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XVIII, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume IV, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC
In aspect-oriented programming, a feature or component that can be applied to parts of a program independent of any inheritance hierarchy.
The visual indication of railway signal as displayed to the driver. With three-aspect colour light signals this would be red, yellow or green, and on four-aspect signals, double-yellow also; a two-aspect signal displays red or green.
- It was in this work [on the Southern Railway] that the four-aspect system of indications, using red, yellow, double yellow, and green, was first installed. […][page 229, photo caption] Three-aspect colour-light signal with three-way junction indicator, Bow Junction, Eastern Region1951 April, T. S. Lascelles, “British Railway Signalling since 1925”, in Railway Magazine, number 600, page 228
- The whole of the main lines to be electrified were being equipped with four-aspect colour-light signals, automatically operated, where appropriate, and spaced to give a 5min headway throughout.1961 December, “Planning the London Midland main-line electrification”, in Trains Illustrated, page 719

Verb

aspect (third-person singular simple present aspects, present participle aspecting, simple past and past participle aspected)

To have a particular aspect or type of aspect.
To channel a divine being.
(obsolete) To look at.

aspect meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

aspect in Hindi

2. the way something appears: रूप rūp
1. any specific feature, part, or element of something: पक्ष pakṣ
8. quality of a verb: भाव bhāv

aspect in Tamil

அம்சம் நோக்கம், கூறு, கோணம், தன்மை, நோக்கம், நோக்கு

aspect in Marathi

2. the way something appears: रूप rūp

aspect in Urdu

بشرا, ہئیت, جنبہ, پہلو, رنگ, روپ

More languagesFewer languages

aspect in Bengali: দৃষ্টিভঙ্গি, দৃশ্য, চেহারা, মুখাবয়ব
aspect in Malayalam: പ്രത്യേക വശം, കാഴ്ചപ്പാട്, നോട്ടം, ഭാവം
aspect in Kannada: ದರ್ಶನ darśana
aspect in Punjabi: ਪਹਿਲੂ pahilū
aspect in Sanskrit: वर्पस् várpas
aspect in Pashto: ډول ḍawl
aspect in Tagalog: aspekto
aspect in Malay: aspek, rupa, segi, sudut
aspect in Persian: نگریستن negaristan, نگرستن negarestan
aspect in Thai: การณ์ลักษณะ

Examples of aspect in a sentence

Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.1921, Ben Travers, chapter 4, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
It is Stephen Gardiner, black and scowling, his aspect in no way improved by his trip to Rome.2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate 2010, page 145:
Kepler (the Lyncæus of the laſt Age) defines an Aſpect in this manner: Aſpectus eſt Angulus à Radiis Luminoſis binorum Planetarum in terra formatus, efficax ad ſtimulandum naturam ſublunarem.1683, George Wharton, “Of the Planetary Aspects, both Old and New, their Characters, and Æquations”, in John Gadbury, editor, The Works of...
I want to collect birthdates for a number of gay people, draw up astrological charts and compare them, looking for special aspects.1977 February 5, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 32, page 14:

All 40 example sentences with aspect

Synonyms of aspect

All synonyms of aspect

Forms of aspect

Noun
plural	aspects
Verb
third-person singular present	aspects
present participle	aspecting
past participle	aspected
past	aspected

Plural of aspect: aspects

Origin of aspect

From Middle English aspect, from Latin aspectus (“look, sight; appearance”), from aspiciō (“see; catch sight of; inspect”), from ad- (“to, towards, at”) + speciō (“look, look at, behold; observe”).

Words formed from aspect

Phrases with aspect

2 more phrasesFewer phrases

Questions about aspect

What does aspect mean?: Aspect means any specific feature, part, or element of something.
What is aspect in Hindi?: Aspect in Hindi is रूप (rūp), पक्ष (pakṣ), भाव (bhāv). See Aspect meaning in Hindi.
How do you use aspect in a sentence?: Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.
What part of speech is aspect?: Aspect can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce aspect?: Aspect is pronounced /ˈæspɛkt/.
What is the plural of aspect?: The plural of aspect is aspects.

Words near aspect in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-aspect.ogg.

Cite this entry: “aspect.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/aspect. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.