What does angularity mean?
Angularity is a noun describing the state or quality of being angular — that is, having angles, sharp corners, or straight edges instead of curves. It applies most literally to physical forms: a skyscraper's angularity, the angularity of a rock formation, or the angularity of a person's features, where it suggests a lean, severe, or striking appearance. The word also has a figurative use, describing speech, writing, or behavior that feels abrupt, stiff, or unpolished — an 'angularity of style' lacks the smoothness and grace of more flowing expression. Derived from the Latin angulus, meaning 'corner', via the adjective angular, it entered English in the seventeenth century. In tone, angularity ranges from neutral description in geometry and design to mildly critical when applied to manners or prose. It is a useful word for critics, writers, and anyone describing form with precision, offering a single term for what might otherwise take several sentences to convey.
nounThe quality or condition of having angles, sharp corners, or abrupt changes of direction; also, in a figurative sense, a manner of speech or writing that is harsh, awkward, or lacking smoothness.
- The physical quality of having angles, sharp corners, or straight edges rather than curves (of objects, buildings, or facial features).
- A figurative quality of speech, writing, or temperament that is abrupt, harsh, stiff, or lacking in ease and polish.
"The building's stark angularity made it stand out sharply against the rounded hills behind it."
"Cubist painting is celebrated for its deliberate angularity, breaking natural forms into planes and facets."
"His prose had a certain angularity that some readers found refreshing and others found abrasive."
The plural is used when referring to multiple instances or manifestations of angularity, such as several sharp features or stylistic roughnesses.
"The critic catalogued the poem's various angularities before praising its underlying lyricism."
From the Latin 'angulus' — the same little word for 'corner' that gave us 'angle' and 'triangle' — comes this noun for everything that refuses to be round.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of angularity
Angularity derives ultimately from the Latin angulus, meaning 'corner' or 'angle', which also produced the English words angle, angular, and triangle through related routes. The immediate source is the adjective angular ('having angles'), from which the abstract noun angularity was formed using the common Latinate suffix -ity, as in clarity from clear or rarity from rare. The word appears in English texts from around the early seventeenth century, part of the broad influx of Latin-derived abstract nouns into learned and literary English during that period.
Related word forms
How angularity is actually used
Angularity is a relatively formal, somewhat literary word; in everyday conversation people are more likely to say something is 'angular' or 'sharp-edged'. When applied to faces or bodies it can carry a connotation of gauntness or severity, while in art and architecture criticism it is often neutral or even positive, suggesting boldness and modernity.
Easily confused with angularity
An angle is the geometric figure formed by two intersecting lines, while angularity is the abstract quality of possessing such sharp corners or an abrupt, unsmooth character.