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 )

Other Word Forms

• harshly adverb
• harshness noun
• overharsh adjective
• overharshly adverb
• overharshness noun
• unharsh adjective
• unharshly 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

"Murdering face to face was so harsh, and so raw," said Carr.

Read more on BBC

Google in September avoided harsh antitrust penalties in a federal lawsuit targeting its search monopoly.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A long-held idea suggests that environmental pressures, such as predators, disease, and harsh weather, drive differences in male and female lifespan.

Read more on Science Daily

How did Argentine President Javier Milei overcome opposition to his harsh austerity measures, anger over corruption scandals and a run on the national currency to win a resounding victory in Sunday's midterm elections?

Read more on Barron's

Even the notoriously harsh Philadelphia fans gave their NFC East rival’s rising star a standing ovation as he was carted off the field with an air cast on his leg.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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