harsh

[ hahrsh ]

adjective

1. ungentle and unpleasant in action or effect:

   harsh treatment; harsh manners.

2. grim or unpleasantly severe; stern; cruel; austere:

   a harsh life; a harsh master.

   Synonyms: bad-tempered, acrimonious, brutal, unkind, unfeeling, hard, brusque

3. physically uncomfortable; desolate; stark:

   a harsh land.

   Synonyms: rough

4. unpleasant to the ear; grating; strident:

   a harsh voice; a harsh sound.

   Synonyms: unharmonious, dissonant, discordant

5. unpleasantly rough, ragged, or coarse to the touch:

   a harsh surface.

6. jarring to the eye or to the esthetic sense; unrefined; crude; raw:

   harsh colors.

7. unpleasant to the taste or sense of smell; bitter; acrid:

   a harsh flavor; a harsh odor.

harsh

/ hɑːʃ /

adjective

1. rough or grating to the senses
2. stern, severe, or cruel

verb

1. slang.
   tr to cause (a state of elation) to be diminished or ended (esp in the phrases harsh someone's mellow and harsh someone's buzz )

Derived Forms

• ˈharshly, adverb
• ˈharshness, noun

Other Words From

• harshly adverb
• harshness noun
• over·harsh adjective
• over·harshly adverb
• over·harshness noun
• un·harsh adjective
• un·harshly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of harsh¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English harsk; cognate with German harsch, Danish harsk “rancid”

Word History and Origins

Origin of harsh¹

C16: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Middle Low German harsch, Norwegian harsk rancid

Synonym Study

See stern ¹.

Example Sentences

"Initially, channels like Star began showing reruns of American shows like Baywatch and The Bold and The Beautiful. But new entrants like Zee TV and Sony began producing original shows to cater to the Indian audience," says Harsh Taneja, an associate professor of media at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

From BBC

That way, recipients would not need to take harsh immunosuppressant drugs.

From Science Daily

Life in mining villages in the rainforest is harsh - most consist of just a dirt track, saloon bars and a church.

From BBC

In his 2013 track “Headlights,” he showed remorse for his harsh lyrics and a greater understanding for her struggles.

From New York Times

Perhaps most unexpected is the absence of Charles Bell’s monumental toys and candy machines, which explode harsh photographic light, as well as Richard Artschwager’s acute architectural constructions painted on Celotex board, a building material that serves as an ironic ground for precision pictures of offices being demolished or off-kilter tract homes.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bitter
• brutal
• cruel
• grim
• hard
• punitive
• relentless
• rude
• ruthless
• severe
• sharp
• stern
• stringent
• tough
• unkind
• unpleasant