harsh
Americanadjective
-
harsher,
comparative
-
harshest
superlative
-
ungentle and unpleasant in action or effect.
harsh treatment; harsh manners.
-
grim or unpleasantly severe; stern; cruel; austere.
a harsh life; a harsh master.
- Synonyms:
- bad-tempered, acrimonious, brutal, unkind, unfeeling, hard, brusque
-
physically uncomfortable; desolate; stark.
a harsh land.
- Synonyms:
- rough
-
unpleasant to the ear; grating; strident.
a harsh voice; a harsh sound.
- Synonyms:
- unharmonious, dissonant, discordant
-
unpleasantly rough, ragged, or coarse to the touch.
a harsh surface.
-
jarring to the eye or to the esthetic sense; unrefined; crude; raw.
harsh colors.
-
unpleasant to the taste or sense of smell; bitter; acrid.
a harsh flavor; a harsh odor.
adjective
-
rough or grating to the senses
-
stern, severe, or cruel
verb
Synonym Usage
See stern 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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harshnessnoun
-
overharshnessnoun
-
overharshadjective
-
unharshadjective
-
harshlyadverb
-
overharshlyadverb
-
unharshlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of harsh
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English harsk; cognate with German harsch, Danish harsk “rancid”
Explanation
Harsh means severe or strict, particularly when referring to punishment. It would be a harsh punishment if you got grounded for two weeks just for coming home a little late for dinner. There are many shades of meaning for the word harsh depending on its context, but all imply that something is more unpleasant than it needs to be. Harsh lighting hurts your eyes. A harsh disciplinarian gives out punishments that are too severe. Whereas constructive criticism is usually helpful, a harsh critique will only make you upset. The harsh reality of the world today is that millions of people are starving while others have too much.
Vocabulary lists containing harsh
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Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 4
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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.
See Examples For:
Inequality looks especially harsh in Victorian England’s wintry cobblestone alleys.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2026
Tensions are rising as pets become more pampered, prices skyrocket and vets have to deliver harsh news; ‘she should have a waist’
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026
The United Nations's human rights office called the imposition of harsh penalties on the activists "deeply concerning", noting that "Au was not represented by counsel of his choice".
From Barron's ● Nov. 10, 2026
However, making a robot perform those same tasks reliably in the harsh environment of space presents a far greater engineering challenge.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2026
The result, a compromise, imposed harsh peace terms on a defeated Germany.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
The General Social Survey, a survey of public opinion, finds that after about 1994, Americans’ preference for harsher courts softened.
From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026
It feels harsher, more exaggerated and formal than anything he’s done before.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
Others in the market offered a harsher assessment of Warsh’s performance.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
After her husband's death, she campaigned for legal changes to see harsher sentences for the manslaughter of emergency workers on duty.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Each month the occupation seemed to grow harsher, restrictions more numerous.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
The bulk of student-loan borrowers never work with debt collectors or face the harshest consequences of the student-loan system.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 12, 2026
He saved his harshest comments for the Germans he encountered while painting in the south of France.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
The discovery challenges long-standing ideas about how metals behave at extremely low temperatures and could help engineers develop tougher materials for some of the harshest environments imaginable.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
As the one who ignited the debate about the monarchy Arnon appears to be getting the harshest punishment.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Charles felt that if he could explain the evolution of the eye, he could convince even the harshest skeptic that he was right.
From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
