All harsh synonyms

adj harsh

• 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.
• bitter — In a bitter argument or conflict, people argue very angrily or fight very fiercely.
• strident — making or having a harsh sound; grating; creaking: strident insects; strident hinges.
• bleak — If a situation is bleak, it is bad, and seems unlikely to improve.
• stringent — rigorously binding or exacting; strict; severe: stringent laws.
• tough — strong and durable; not easily broken or cut.
• unkind — lacking in kindness or mercy; severe.
• rude — discourteous or impolite, especially in a deliberate way: a rude reply.
• ruthless — without pity or compassion; cruel; merciless: a ruthless tyrant.
• cruel — Someone who is cruel deliberately causes pain or distress to people or animals.
• brutal — A brutal act or person is cruel and violent.
• relentless — that does not relent; unyieldingly severe, strict, or harsh; unrelenting: a relentless enemy.
• unpleasant — not pleasant; displeasing; disagreeable; offensive: an unpleasant taste; an unpleasant situation; an unpleasant manner.
• punitive — serving for, concerned with, or inflicting punishment: punitive laws; punitive action.
• stern — rear of boat
• 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.
• coarse — Coarse things have a rough texture because they consist of thick threads or large pieces.
• acrid — An acrid smell or taste is strong and sharp, and usually unpleasant.
• astringent — An astringent is a liquid that you put on your skin to make it less oily or to make cuts stop bleeding.
• cacophonous — If you describe a mixture of sounds as cacophonous, you mean that they are loud and unpleasant.
• clashing — to make a loud, harsh noise: The gears of the old car clashed and grated.
• cracked — An object that is cracked has lines on its surface because it is damaged.
• craggy — A craggy cliff or mountain is steep and rocky.
• discordant — being at variance; disagreeing; incongruous: discordant opinions.
• dissonant — disagreeing or harsh in sound; discordant.
• disturbing — upsetting or disquieting; dismaying: a disturbing increase in the crime rate.
• earsplitting — ear-piercing: an earsplitting explosion.
• flat — horizontally level: a flat roof.
• glaring — shining with or reflecting a harshly bright or brilliant light.
• grating — a frame of metal bars for holding fuel when burning, as in a fireplace, furnace, or stove.
• guttural — of or relating to the throat.
• hoarse — having a vocal tone characterized by weakness of intensity and excessive breathiness; husky: the hoarse voice of the auctioneer.
• incompatible — not compatible; unable to exist together in harmony: She asked for a divorce because they were utterly incompatible.
• jagged — having ragged notches, points, or teeth; zigzag: the jagged edge of a saw; a jagged wound.
• jarring — to have a harshly unpleasant or perturbing effect on one's nerves, feelings, thoughts, etc.: The sound of the alarm jarred.
• noisy — abounding in or full of noise: a noisy assembly hall.
• off-key — deviating from the correct tone or pitch; out of tune.
• rasping — harsh; grating: a rasping voice.
• raucous — harsh; strident; grating: raucous voices; raucous laughter.
• rugged — having a roughly broken, rocky, hilly, or jagged surface: rugged ground.
• rusty — restive; stubborn: a rusty horse.
• sour — having an acid taste, resembling that of vinegar, lemon juice, etc.; tart.
• uneven — not level or flat; rough; rugged: The wheels bumped and jolted over the uneven surface.
• unrelenting — not relenting; not yielding or swerving in determination or resolution, as of or from opinions, convictions, ambitions, ideals, etc.; inflexible: an unrelenting opponent of the Equal Rights Amendment.
• unmusical — not musical; deficient in melody, harmony, rhythm, or tone.
• caterwauling — the shrieking and yowling made by a cat, for example when it is on heat or fighting
• jangling — to produce a harsh, discordant sound, as two comparatively small, thin, or hollow pieces of metal hitting together: The charms on her bracelet jangle as she moves.