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.
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
It means discovering the warmth and harshness of the world as Elwood encounters it — and later, as Turner does — not merely as a spectator but as if living it ourselves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2024
The sarcasm that had repelled, the harshness that had startled me once, were only like keen condiments in a choice dish: their presence was pungent, but their absence would be felt as comparatively insipid.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
