aspect

Everyday

1. One part or side of a situation, problem or idea that you can think about. tree →
2. The way something looks or seems from a certain point of view. tree →
3. The direction a building, room or garden faces, such as a south aspect. tree →
4. (grammar) A way a verb shows whether an action is finished, ongoing or repeated, as in "I am reading" versus "I read". tree →

In the lessons

In school it appears in essays and science ("consider every aspect of the problem"), in geography (a slope's aspect affects sunlight), and in grammar lessons about verb forms. It tells the reader that something has several parts and one of them is being looked at. Common phrases: "every aspect of", "in all aspects", "one aspect of", "the most important aspect".

Examples

• Safety is the most important aspect of the trip. tree →
• We looked at every aspect of the problem before deciding. tree →
• The house has a sunny southern aspect, so the garden is warm. tree →
• One aspect of being a good friend is listening. tree →
• Money was only one aspect of the argument. tree →
• The teacher asked us to write about a different aspect of life in Roman Britain. tree →
• Plants on the north aspect of the hill grow more slowly. tree →
• "I was running" shows the continuous aspect of the verb. tree →
• A desert lay spread out before him, whose aspect made his hair stand on end. tree →

Note

Countable noun: an aspect, two aspects; starts with a vowel sound, so "an aspect". Do not confuse with "respect" or "expect". Often followed by "of": "an aspect of the job". In grammar, aspect (finished or ongoing) is different from tense (past, present, future).

In Jewish tradition

In the Song of Songs it means the way someone looks, their appearance, compared to the noble cedars of Lebanon.

Interpretation. Tradition reads the Song of Songs as a love song between God and Israel. The praise of the beloved's look is read as the beauty of God as seen by Israel.

Examples

• His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold; his aspect is like Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. (Writings SNG.5.15, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Countable noun: an aspect, two aspects; starts with a vowel sound, so "an aspect". Do not confuse with "respect" or "expect". Often followed by "of": "an aspect of the job". In grammar, aspect (finished or ongoing) is different from tense (past, present, future).