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.

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

This is a place where players have to roll up their sleeves and get on with it despite the golfing environment's stark harshness.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2025

The transformation is all the more striking for the harshness of the land.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 25, 2023

I didn’t like the harshness in my voice, but I was desperate to save my sisters, and the faster we got out of there, the better.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall