What is another word for harsh?
Synonyms for harsh
hɑrʃharsh
This thesaurus page includes all potential synonyms, words with the same meaning and similar terms for the word harsh.
English Synonyms and Antonyms
harsh
Acid, sour, and bitter agree in being contrasted with sweet, but the two former are sharply distinguished from the latter. Acid or sour is the taste of vinegar or lemon-juice; bitter that of quassia, quinine, or strychnine. Acrid is nearly allied to bitter. Pungent suggests the effect of pepper or snuff on the organs of taste or smell; as, a pungent odor. Caustic indicates the corroding effect of some strong chemical, as nitrate of silver. In a figurative sense, as applied to language or character, these words are very closely allied. We say a sour face, sharp words, bitter complaints, caustic wit, cutting irony, biting sarcasm, a stinging taunt, harsh judgment, a tart reply. Harsh carries the idea of intentional and severe unkindness, bitter of a severity that arises from real or supposed ill treatment. The bitter speech springs from the sore heart. Tart and sharp utterances may not proceed from an intention to wound, but merely from a wit recklessly keen; cutting, stinging, and biting speech indicates more or less of hostile intent, the latter being the more deeply malicious. The caustic utterance is meant to burn, perhaps wholesomely, as in the satire of Juvenal or Cervantes. Compare MOROSE.
Synonyms:
acerb, acetous, acid, acidulated, acidulous, acrid, acrimonious, biting, bitter, caustic, cutting, irate, pungent, savage, sharp, sour, stinging, tart, vinegarish, virulentAntonyms:
dulcet, honeyed, luscious, nectared, saccharine, sweet
Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms
Princeton's WordNet
harsh, roughadjective
unpleasantly stern
"wild and harsh country full of hot sand and cactus"; "the nomad life is rough and hazardous"
Synonyms:
bumpy, approximative, rough, raspy, jolting, pugnacious, jolty, crude, gravelly, rocky, coarse, fierce, abrasive, scratchy, jumpy, boisterous, grating, approximate, unsmooth, uncut, raspingharshadjective
disagreeable to the senses
"the harsh cry of a blue jay"; "harsh cognac"; "the harsh white light makes you screw up your eyes"; "harsh irritating smoke filled the hallway"
coarse, harshadjective
of textures that are rough to the touch or substances consisting of relatively large particles
"coarse meal"; "coarse sand"; "a coarse weave"
Synonyms:
coarse, rough-cut, vulgar, uncouth, abrasive, rough, commonharsh, roughadjective
unkind or cruel or uncivil
"had harsh words"; "a harsh and unlovable old tyrant"; "a rough answer"
Synonyms:
bumpy, approximative, rough, raspy, jolting, pugnacious, jolty, crude, gravelly, rocky, coarse, fierce, abrasive, scratchy, jumpy, boisterous, grating, approximate, unsmooth, uncut, raspingharshadjective
severe
"a harsh penalty"
harsh, abrasiveadjective
sharply disagreeable; rigorous
"the harsh facts of court delays"; "an abrasive character"
Dictionary of English Synonymes
harshadjective
Synonyms:
roughharshadjective
Synonyms:
sour, acrid, tart, crabbed, hard, biting, sharp, caustic, corrosiveharshadjective
Synonyms:
grating, discordant, jarringharshadjective
Synonyms:
crabbed, morose, stern, severe, austere, acrimonious, ill-tempered, out of humor, out of temperharshadjective
Synonyms:
rude, uncivil, bluff, blunt, gruff, ungracious, churlish, bearish, brutal
Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words
harshadjective
Synonyms:
inharmonious, rough, disagreeable, unpleasant, raucous, dissonant, strident, discordant, cacophonous, austere, morose, severe, ungracious, inurbane, discourteous, churlish, uncivil, blunt, bluff, brusque, acrimonious, caustic, acrid, repulsive
Words popularity by usage frequency
ranking | word | |
---|---|---|
#596 | hard | |
#736 | common | |
#1928 | difficult | |
#2145 | heavy | |
#2570 | acid | |
#3091 | sharp | |
#3717 | cutting | |
#3964 | severe | |
#4924 | tough | |
#5548 | rough | |
#5995 | rocky | |
#7139 | strict | |
#8049 | approximate | |
#9271 | brutal | |
#9792 | savage | |
#9920 | crude | |
#10079 | bitter | |
#11289 | cruel | |
#11437 | harsh | |
#11710 | uncut | |
#12027 | sour | |
#12142 | rugged | |
#12170 | hostile | |
#12199 | rude | |
#12588 | stiff | |
#12618 | stark | |
#13365 | abusive | |
#13774 | rigorous | |
#14475 | coarse | |
#14856 | grim | |
#15142 | fierce | |
#17445 | stringent | |
#18316 | biting | |
#21938 | tart | |
#23129 | abrasive | |
#23811 | vulgar | |
#28023 | grating | |
#30247 | dura | |
#32636 | bumpy | |
#35779 | caustic | |
#40176 | stinging | |
#43797 | virulent | |
#46950 | draconian | |
#50552 | pungent | |
#58225 | irate | |
#59577 | scratchy | |
#60245 | boisterous | |
#60813 | gruff | |
#65631 | discordant | |
#68434 | gravelly | |
#74028 | jumpy | |
#96709 | raspy | |
#96952 | acrid | |
#98549 | uncouth | |
#103017 | acrimonious | |
#133494 | pugnacious | |
#139637 | jolting | |
#147394 | rasping | |
#187998 | rancorous | |
#241914 | approximative |
How to use harsh in a sentence?
Rules too soft are seldomly followed; rules too harsh are seldomly executed.
It is permissible to protest, to shout and to say harsh words, and not every harsh word is incitement. It is not the harsh words that caused the prime minister’s murder — it was a despicable murderer in Yigal Amir.
Difficulty, my brethren, is the nurse of greatness-a harsh nurse, who roughly rocks her foster-children into strength and athletic proportion.
I would hope that we would not stand in such harsh judgment in a moment of time when someone is hacked in their private conversations, we all make stupid mistakes ... I don't believe she's a racist.
Lomhlaba Unzima, Lohmhlaba. This world is a harsh place, this world.
Translations for harsh
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- صارمArabic
- রুক্ষBengali
- criticar, sever, severa, aspreCatalan, Valencian
- hrubýCzech
- ru, grovDanish
- harsch, streng, rau, scharf, herb, unwirsch, schrill, grell, hartGerman
- σκληρόςGreek
- despotricar, duro, severo, ásperoSpanish
- زمختPersian
- rankka, tyly, julma, raakaFinnish
- dure, durFrench
- cruaidh, borb, garg, searbhScottish Gaelic
- रुखाHindi
- դաժանArmenian
- kerasIndonesian
- rigoroso, aspro, rude, accidentato, discordante, severo, crudele, grossolano, rigido, duro, gibboso, ruvidoItalian
- 粗いJapanese
- 냉혹하다, 가혹한, 거칠다Korean
- durus, raucusLatin
- raupjš, rupjšLatvian
- wreed, zwaar, ruw, grofDutch
- hardeNorwegian
- szorstkiPolish
- áspera, cruel, severo, grosso, grosseiro, áspero, duroPortuguese
- aspru, severRomanian
- суровый, шероховатый, шершавый, жестковатый, неприятный, жёсткий, резкий, твёрдый, строгий, грубый, зазубренныйRussian
- grubSerbo-Croatian
- vrazhdë, ashpërAlbanian
- mkaliSwahili
- కఠినమైనTelugu
- Khắc nghiệtVietnamese
- sevärikVolapük
- שטרענגYiddish
- 苛刻Chinese
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"harsh." Synonyms.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Web. 1 Dec. 2023. <https://www.synonyms.com/synonym/harsh>.
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