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
Genesis brand engineers spend some coin to attenuate engine and mechanical noise, vibration and harshness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 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
She was probably an old, old woman now, still in the same harshness of spirit, singing this song in the tiny house down home which she and Elizabeth had shared so long.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
