- rough or grating to the senses
- stern, severe, or cruel
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
harsh /hɑrʃ/USA pronunciation
adj., -er, -est.
harsh•ness, n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- not gentle or pleasant;
severe:received harsh treatment. - grim;
stern:a harsh master. - uncomfortable or irritating to the body or to the senses:harsh detergents.
harsh•ness, n. [uncountable]
harsh
(härsh),USA pronunciation adj.
harsh′ly, adv.
harsh′ness, n.
- 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.
- 1250–1300; Middle English harsk; cognate with German harsch, Danish harsk rancid
harsh′ness, n.
- 2. brusque, hard, unfeeling, unkind, brutal, acrimonious, bad-tempered. See stern 1. 3. rough. 4. discordant, dissonant, unharmonious. 6. unesthetic.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
harsh /hɑːʃ/ adj
'harsh' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
acerbic
- arduous
- astringent
- bark
- bitter
- blare
- blast
- brassy
- bray
- brutal
- cacophony
- cacophonous
- censure
- chat
- clang
- clank
- clash
- clear
- crack
- creak
- crusty
- discord
- discordant
- draconian
- easy
- exaction
- fire
- grate
- grating
- gravelly
- grim
- grind
- groan
- hacking
- hanging
- hard
- heavy-handed
- hoarse
- ill
- ill-use
- inclement
- iron hand
- jangle
- jar
- let up
- mitigate
- oppressive
- otter hound
- quack
- aback