harsh

[hahrsh] /hɑrʃ/

adjective

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

1250-1300; Middle English harsk; cognate with German harsch, Danish harsk rancid

Related forms

harshly, adverb

harshness, noun

overharsh, adjective

overharshly, adverb

overharshness, noun

unharsh, adjective

unharshly, adverb

Synonyms

2. brusque, hard, unfeeling, unkind, brutal, acrimonious, bad-tempered. See stern¹ . 3. rough. 4. discordant, dissonant, unharmonious. 6. unesthetic.

Examples from the web for harsh

In retrospect, even he had to admit some of these quotes were harsh, though he rarely admitted they were wrong.
The six famous bridges date back as early as 1871, and were covered to preserve their wooden timbers from Iowa's harsh winters.
They did manage to survive, though, but it was harsh.
Too bad the price tag is even more painful than the harsh seat cushion.
Eventually, the female crabs release their larvae into the harsh waves.
Politicians continue to wrestle over health care reform and attempt to pull the country out of a harsh recession.
His judgments of himself, and of humanity generally, are often harsh.
While harsh, I thought the review was pretty reasonable.
Strange as hope's green blossom touched with time's harsh rust.
He acknowledges that his defiance probably contributed to the relatively harsh treatment he endured in prison.

British Dictionary definitions for harsh

harsh

/hɑːʃ/

adjective

rough or grating to the senses

stern, severe, or cruel

verb

(transitive) (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)

Derived Forms

harshly, adverb
harshness, noun

Word Origin

C16: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Middle Low German harsch, Norwegian harsk rancid

Word Origin and History for harsh

adj.

originally of texture, "hairy," 1530s, probably from harske "rough, coarse, sour" (c.1300), a northern word of Scandinavian origin (cf. Danish and Norwegian harsk "rancid, rank"), related to Middle Low German harsch "rough, raw," German harst "a rake;" perhaps from PIE root *kars- "to scrape, scratch, rub, card" (cf. Lithuanian karsiu "to comb," Old Church Slavonic krasta, Russian korosta "to itch," Latin carduus "thistle," Sanskrit kasati "rubs, scratches"). Meaning "offensive to feelings" is from 1570s; "disagreeable, rude" from 1610s.

Slang definitions & phrases for harsh

harsh

verb

To nag and complain; nudge (1990s+ Teenagers)