harsh

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adjective

1. Having a surface that is not smooth: coarse, cragged, craggy, ironbound, jagged, ragged, rough, rugged, scabrous, uneven. See smooth/rough.
2. Disagreeable to the sense of hearing: dry, grating, hoarse, jarring, rasping, raspy, raucous, rough, scratchy, squawky, strident. See sounds/pleasant sounds/unpleasant sounds/neutral sounds or silence.
3. Having a noticeably sharp pungent taste or smell: acerbic, acrid, bitter, sour. See taste/bad taste.
4. Rigorous and unsparing in treating others: demanding, exacting, hard, rigid, severe, stern, strict, tough, unyielding. See easy/hard.
5. Cold and forbidding: austere, bleak, dour, grim, hard, severe, stark. See attitude/good attitude/bad attitude/neutral attitude, hot/cold/lukewarm.
6. Causing sharp, often prolonged discomfort: bitter, brutal, hard, rough, severe. See comfort/discomfort.

adj

Definition: nasty, abusive
Antonyms: courteous, friendly, kind, nice, polite

adj

Definition: rough, crude (to the senses)
Antonyms: easy, gentle, mild, peaceful, pleasing, smooth, soft

mod. bad; rude.  She's a harsh lady and doesn't care how you feel.

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IN BRIEF: Rough and unpleasant. Also: Cruel or very strict.

Free curiosity is of more value than harsh discipline. — Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

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For a list of words related to harsh, see:

• Demanding, Critical, Calculating, or Selfish
• Troublesome, Negative, Irresponsible, or Unpleasant

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See words rhyming with "harsh."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Harsh.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - hård, streng, brutal, rå, skurrende, disharmonisk, skærende, skarp, grov

Nederlands (Dutch)
wreed, scherp, onvriendelijk, harteloos, hardvochtig, vinnig, streng, grof, krassend (geluid)

Français (French)
adj. - cruel, brutal, sévère, rigoureux (un climat), difficile (des conditions), corrosif, détergent (un shampoing), rêche (un tissu), cru (une lumière), rude (une voix)

Deutsch (German)
adj. - rauh, grell, schroff, streng, hart

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - σκληρός, τραχύς, αυστηρός, δριμύς, άγριος

Italiano (Italian)
crudele, brutale, severo

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - áspero, azedo, dissonante, cruel

Русский (Russian)
грубый, резкий, суровый, строгий

Español (Spanish)
adj. - cruel, duro, áspero, severo, violento

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - hård, skärande, skarp

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
粗糙的, 严厉的, 刺耳的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 粗糙的, 嚴厲的, 刺耳的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 거친, 거슬리는, 깔깔한, 가혹한

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 不快な, 厳しい

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) خشن الملمس, أجش الصوت, مزعج أو مؤلم, قاس, , جاف غير سائغ فنيا أو جماليا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮גס, צורם, קשה, אכזרי‬

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