harsh
ungentle and unpleasant in action or effect: harsh treatment; harsh manners.
grim or unpleasantly severe; stern; cruel; austere: a harsh life; a harsh master.
physically uncomfortable; desolate; stark: a harsh land.
unpleasant to the ear; grating; strident: a harsh voice; a harsh sound.
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.
Origin of harsh
1synonym study For harsh
Other words for harsh
2 | brusque, hard, unfeeling, unkind, brutal, acrimonious, bad-tempered |
3 | rough |
4 | discordant, dissonant, unharmonious |
6 | unesthetic |
Other words from harsh
- harshly, adverb
- harshness, noun
- o·ver·harsh, adjective
- o·ver·harsh·ly, adverb
- o·ver·harsh·ness, noun
- un·harsh, adjective
- un·harsh·ly, adverb
Words Nearby harsh
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use harsh in a sentence
First, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and several other stars went public with harsh criticism of the NBA’s decision to pursue an All-Star Game in March.
The NBA’s week of controversies show how hard life is outside of the bubble | Ben Golliver | February 12, 2021 | Washington PostThey used sophisticated tools, made art, and established themselves in some very harsh environments.
What happens when you replace a human gene with its Neanderthal version? | John Timmer | February 11, 2021 | Ars TechnicaLook for heated mittens if you experience harsh wintersAlthough the best mittens come with a built-in warmth boost, in certain conditions, that might not be quite enough.
Between 29,000 and 14,000 years ago, a harsh Ice Age took hold.
Harsh Ice Age winters may have helped turn wolves into dogs | Bruce Bower | February 3, 2021 | Science News For StudentsHis early prosecutorial appointments, however, do not show signs of worshipping a harsh Old Testament god.
Why, some might be asking, am I being so harsh on their work so soon after they died?
And, she added, “In other neighborhoods, I feel they are a little harsh.”
Your letter highlights so many of the harsh realities trans people face, specifically in regard to how society rejects us.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen | Parker Molloy | January 1, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTYour death is symbolic of the harsh reality facing so many of us.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen | Parker Molloy | January 1, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTBut this was the year when criticism of said women finally got the harsh words it deserved.
Renée Zellweger Got a New Face—and Everyone Had An Opinion About It | Kevin O’Keeffe | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhere these overtones are interfered with by any imperfection in the instrument the result is a harsh or imperfect sound.
Expressive Voice Culture | Jessie Eldridge SouthwickA car conductor is instructed to treat passengers civilly and to use no harsh means with them, save in extreme cases.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney BollesIn the humour her spouse was then in she had better have remained silent—she told him, that he was harsh and unjust.
The World Before Them | Susanna Moodie“He hath told us already, Princess,” said the other, his harsh accents sounding more like the snarl of a wolf than a human voice.
The Red Year | Louis TracyHe was considered a harsh Governor because his martial law administration was characterized by severe punishment for wrongdoing.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia | Dorothy M. Torpey
British Dictionary definitions for harsh
/ (hɑːʃ) /
rough or grating to the senses
stern, severe, or cruel
(tr) slang to cause (a state of elation) to be diminished or ended (esp in the phrases harsh someone's mellow and harsh someone's buzz)
Origin of harsh
1Derived forms of harsh
- harshly, adverb
- harshness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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