harsh
Americanadjective
-
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
Related Words
See stern 1.
Other Word Forms
- harshly adverb
- harshness noun
- overharsh adjective
- overharshly adverb
- overharshness noun
- unharsh adjective
- unharshly adverb
Etymology
Origin of harsh
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English harsk; cognate with German harsch, Danish harsk “rancid”
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’t believe I am hearing such harsh words from my own father!
From Literature
The administration has also made harsh enforcement a core component of its immigration strategy.
From MarketWatch
Its two submersibles have everything from hydraulic collection arms and suction tubes to high-definition cameras, allowing them to uncover the improbable life found in some of the harshest conditions on Earth.
From Barron's
In New York City, residents are waking up to temperatures in the single digits, with wind chills making conditions feel even harsher.
From Salon
It would have been incredibly harsh to give it.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
