harsh

American  

[hahrsh] / hɑrʃ /

adjective

1. ungentle and unpleasant in action or effect.

   harsh treatment; harsh manners.

2. grim or unpleasantly severe; stern; cruel; austere.

   a harsh life; a harsh master.

   Synonyms:

   bad-tempered, acrimonious, brutal, unkind, unfeeling, hard, brusque

3. physically uncomfortable; desolate; stark.

   a harsh land.

   Synonyms:

   rough

4. unpleasant to the ear; grating; strident.

   a harsh voice; a harsh sound.

   Synonyms:

   unharmonious, dissonant, discordant

5. unpleasantly rough, ragged, or coarse to the touch.

   a harsh surface.

6. jarring to the eye or to the esthetic sense; unrefined; crude; raw.

   harsh colors.

7. unpleasant to the taste or sense of smell; bitter; acrid.

   a harsh flavor; a harsh odor.

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harsh British  

/ hɑːʃ /

adjective

1. rough or grating to the senses

2. stern, severe, or cruel

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verb

1. slang (tr) to cause (a state of elation) to be diminished or ended (esp in the phrases harsh someone's mellow and harsh someone's buzz )

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”

Related Words

• bitter
• brutal
• cruel
• grim
• hard
• punitive
• relentless
• rude
• ruthless
• severe
• sharp
• stern
• stringent
• tough
• unkind
• unpleasant