acclivity

American  

[uh-kliv-i-tee] / əˈklɪv ɪ ti /

noun

plural

acclivities

1. an upward slope, as of ground; an ascent (opposed to declivity).

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acclivity British  

/ əˈklɪvɪtɪ, əˈklaɪvəs /

noun

1. an upward slope, esp of the ground Compare declivity

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Other Word Forms

• acclivitous adjective
• acclivous adjective
• unacclivitous adjective
• unacclivitously adverb

Etymology

Origin of acclivity

1605–15; < Latin acclīvitās, equivalent to acclīv ( is ) steep ( ac- ac- + -clīvis, adj. derivative of clīvus slope) + -itās -ity

Explanation

An acclivity might be something to dread if you ride a bike a lot. An acclivity is an uphill slope, so you’ll have to pedal a little harder to get to the top. The word acclivity traces back to the Latin word acclivis, meaning “ascending,” which is a combination of ad-, meaning “toward,” and clivus, meaning “slope.” If you encounter an acclivity, it’s going to be all uphill until you get to the top. The opposite of an acclivity is a declivity, which has a similar Latin origin. In the case of declivity, it’s the de- prefix, meaning “down,” that moves things in the opposite direction and gives it the meaning of “downhill slope.”

Example Sentences

She sate negligently in her saddle—the undulating outlines of her majestic form rendered more conspicuous by the movements of her palfrey, as it strained up the acclivity of the hill.

From The White Gauntlet by Reid, Mayne

To gallop horses already blown against that steep acclivity would have been to kill them.

From No Quarter! by Reid, Mayne

He had been able to see over it, only by standing back upon the sloping acclivity of the counterscarp.

From The White Gauntlet by Reid, Mayne

Houses of the poorer sort straggle up its eastern acclivity, while the south and west faces remain as formed by nature, abrupt and precipitous.

From Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast by Drake, Samuel Adams

What diversity of scene, as isle after isle, bold headland, lofty cliff, or wooded acclivity, meets the gaze!

From The Genius of Scotland or Sketches of Scottish Scenery, Literature and Religion by Turnbull, Robert