Harsh — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

unpleasantly stern

disagreeable to the senses

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/hˈɑːɹʃ/

🇬🇧British English

/hˈɑːʃ/

🇮🇳Indian English

/hˈɑːʃ/

1 syllable Say it as /hˈɑːɹʃ/.

Examples

wild and harsh country full of hot sand and cactus
the nomad life is rough and hazardous
the harsh cry of a blue jay

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

rough abrasive coarse

Antonyms

fine

Parts of Speech

adjective	unpleasantly stern “wild and harsh country full of hot sand and cactus”
adjective	disagreeable to the senses “the harsh cry of a blue jay”
adjective	of textures that are rough to the touch or substances consisting of relatively large particles “coarse meal”
adjective	unkind or cruel or uncivil “had harsh words”
adjective	severe “a harsh penalty”
adjective	sharply disagreeable; rigorous “the harsh facts of court delays”

Word Forms

harshness	noun	excessive sternness
roughness	noun	an unpolished unrefined quality
coarseness	noun	looseness or roughness in texture (as of cloth)
abrasiveness	noun	the quality of being sharply disagreeable

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

harsch

unangenehm streng

🇫🇷French

rude

désagréablement sévère

🇪🇸Spanish

duro

desagradablemente severo

🇮🇹Italian

duro

spiacevolmente severo

🇳🇱Dutch

wreed

onaangenaam streng

🇵🇹Portuguese

severo

desagradavelmente severo

🇷🇺Russian

жесткий

неприятно суровый

India

🇮🇳Hindi

कठोर

अप्रिय रूप से कठोर

🇧🇩Bengali

কঠোর

অপ্রীতিকরভাবে কঠোর

🇮🇳Tamil

கடுமையான

விரும்பத்தகாத கடுமையான

🇮🇳Telugu

కఠినమైన

అసహ్యకరమైన దృఢమైన

🇮🇳Marathi

कठोर

अप्रियपणे कठोर

🇮🇳Gujarati

કઠોર

અપ્રિય રીતે કડક

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕಠೋರ

ಅಹಿತಕರವಾಗಿ ಕಠೋರ

🇮🇳Malayalam

കഠിനമായ

അരോചകമായി കർക്കശമായ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਕਠੋਰ

ਕੋਝਾ ਸਖ਼ਤ

🇵🇰Urdu

سخت

ناخوشگوار طور پر سخت

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

残酷的

严厉得令人不快

🇯🇵Japanese

ひどい

不快なほど厳しい

🇰🇷Korean

가혹한

불쾌할 정도로 엄격한

🇻🇳Vietnamese

thô ráp

nghiêm khắc khó chịu

🇹🇭Thai

รุนแรง

เข้มงวดอย่างไม่เป็นที่พอใจ

🇮🇩Indonesian

kasar

keras dan tidak menyenangkan

🇵🇭Filipino

malupit

hindi kanais-nais na mahigpit

🇲🇾Malay

keras

tegas yang tidak menyenangkan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

صارِم

صارمة بشكل غير سارة

🇮🇷Persian

خشن

به طرز ناخوشایندی سختگیر

🇹🇷Turkish

sert

rahatsız edici derecede sert

🇮🇱Hebrew

קָשֶׁה

חמור באופן לא נעים

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'harsh'?

The primary meaning of 'harsh' is 'unpleasantly stern'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'harsh' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'harsh' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'harsh' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'harsh' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'harsh' in your daily reading?

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Do you find 'harsh' easy to spell?

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In your opinion, does the word 'harsh' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

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Which age group is most likely to use 'harsh' in regular conversations?

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Would you classify 'harsh' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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