definitions
  • synonyms

harsh

[ hahrsh ]
/ hɑrʃ /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR harsh ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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RELATED WORDS

hard, grim, severe, rigid, sharp, bitter, strident, bleak, stringent, tough, unkind, rude, ruthless, cruel, brutal, relentless, unpleasant, punitive, stern, coarse

Nearby words

harrowing, harrowingly, harrumph, harry, harry potter, harsh, harshen, harshly, harshness, harslet, harstad

Origin of harsh

1250–1300; Middle English harsk; cognate with German harsch, Danish harsk rancid
SYNONYMS FOR harsh
2 brusque, hard, unfeeling, unkind, brutal, acrimonious, bad-tempered. See stern1.
3 rough.
4 discordant, dissonant, unharmonious.
6 unesthetic.
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR harsh ON THESAURUS.COM
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for harsh

British Dictionary definitions for harsh

harsh

/ (hɑːʃ) /

adjective

rough or grating to the senses
stern, severe, or cruel

verb

(tr) slang 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 Formsharshly, adverbharshness, noun

Word Origin for harsh

C16: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Middle Low German harsch, Norwegian harsk rancid
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012