harsh
adjective
ungentle and unpleasant in action or effect.
harshness
-
a word derived from
harsh.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"I can say with absolute certainty that to raise creatures able to survive nature's harshness, they must be toughened up while growing up," Kinjo, 56, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
She recalls other witches from folk tales like Baba Yaga, frightening characters but also, she says, “women possessing an innocence that had been eroded over the years by the harshness of life.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
To assess excessive punishment claims, Colorado courts begin by comparing “the gravity or seriousness of the offense to the harshness of the penalty.”
From Slate ● Dec. 29, 2025
Without discounting the harshness of that imposed acculturation, he thanked what it gained him rather than resenting the means.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
The melody was adorned in equal measure by the harshness of tone and a dismal, languorous mistuning with which I plagued all but the uneasy cadences.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
