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harsh

harsh
H h

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [hahrsh]
    • /hɑrʃ/
    • /hɑːʃ/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [hahrsh]
    • /hɑrʃ/

Definitions of harsh word

  • adjective harsh ungentle and unpleasant in action or effect: harsh treatment; harsh manners. 1
  • adjective harsh grim or unpleasantly severe; stern; cruel; austere: a harsh life; a harsh master. 1
  • adjective harsh physically uncomfortable; desolate; stark: a harsh land. 1
  • adjective harsh unpleasant to the ear; grating; strident: a harsh voice; a harsh sound. 1
  • adjective harsh unpleasantly rough, ragged, or coarse to the touch: a harsh surface. 1
  • adjective harsh jarring to the eye or to the esthetic sense; unrefined; crude; raw: harsh colors. 1

Information block about the term

Origin of harsh

First appearance:

before 1250
One of the 11% oldest English words
1250-1300; Middle English harsk; cognate with German harsch, Danish harsk rancid

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Harsh

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

harsh popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 99% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

harsh usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for harsh

adj harsh

  • hard — not soft; solid and firm to the touch; unyielding to pressure and impenetrable or almost impenetrable.
  • grim — stern and admitting of no appeasement or compromise: grim determination; grim necessity.
  • severe — harsh; unnecessarily extreme: severe criticism; severe laws.
  • rigid — stiff or unyielding; not pliant or flexible; hard: a rigid strip of metal.
  • sharp — having a thin cutting edge or a fine point; well-adapted for cutting or piercing: a sharp knife.

adjective harsh

  • inhospitable — not inclined to, or characterized by, hospitality, as persons or actions; unfriendly.
  • stark — sheer, utter, downright, or complete: stark madness.
  • rough — having a coarse or uneven surface, as from projections, irregularities, or breaks; not smooth: rough, red hands; a rough road.
  • asperous — Rough, rugged, uneven.
  • creaking — Present participle of creak.

noun harsh

  • fishwife — a woman who sells fish.
  • battleaxe — Alternative spelling of battle-ax.
  • battle-ax — a heavy ax with a wide blade, formerly used as a weapon of war
  • battleax — If you call a middle-aged or older woman a battleax, you mean she is very difficult and unpleasant because of her fierce and determined attitude.
  • termagant — a violent, turbulent, or brawling woman.

Antonyms for harsh

adj harsh

  • pliable — easily bent; flexible; supple: pliable leather.
  • facile — moving, acting, working, proceeding, etc., with ease, sometimes with superficiality: facile fingers; a facile mind.
  • pleasant — pleasing, agreeable, or enjoyable; giving pleasure: pleasant news.
  • cheerful — Someone who is cheerful is happy and shows this in their behaviour.
  • kind — of a good or benevolent nature or disposition, as a person: a kind and loving person.

adjective harsh

  • lenient — agreeably tolerant; permissive; indulgent: He tended to be lenient toward the children. More lenient laws encouraged greater freedom of expression.

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See also

Matching words

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