harsh
- adjective
- /hɑrʃ/
- The steep terrain and harsh climate make a challenging climate...
- harsh conditions
- harsh treatment
- a harsh winter
I for me, when I'm going to work in harsh conditions, it's my feet.
- I for me, when I'm going to work in harsh conditions, it's my feet.
- Would they like the harsh quiet that rains here all winter?
- They struggle to stay alive and well under very harsh conditions.
- Telerods, you know, it's a very harsh terrain out there.
- And to get to that point, you have had to make very harsh decisions.
- Since the fishing world that mentally grows up in is depicted as harsh and dangerous.
- So my grandfather was born and raised in that harsh conditions.
Examples
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Maybe the snows won't be so harsh this late in the winter, and spring will come early.
Fiction book (1996) -
The harsh reality of living in poverty can often lead to feelings of hopelessness.
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Despite their essential work, their lives were harsh and they had little to no rights.
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Yes, but this can take harsh conditions.
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So it was a quite harsh time for for everyone.
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You think you had a harsh life!
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It's the harsh reality of our chosen profession.
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It was a harsh journey, and my mother was pregnant.
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Today, we can hardly imagine how harsh the pre-agricultural existence must have been.
Academic text (2012) -
The task of focusing on those harsh realities fell to the Jamaican Information Services.
Academic text (1992)
Synonyms
Needing a lot of effort and often strict or severe
Hard and severe, causing problems or danger
Very harsh and severe, causing great difficulty or pain
Very strict and harsh when judging or punishing people
Harsh and unfair treatment that hurts people
Serious and unfriendly so people feel afraid to approach
Very bad or difficult and hard to deal with
Very harsh and not forgiving when criticizing or acting
Hard to do and leaves you very tired
Harsh or hurtful in a way that makes someone feel upset
Antonyms
Compounds
How Harsh
Surface Forms
Etymology
Harsh probably comes from old words that meant 'rough' or 'hoarse', like a hard, unforgiving place with no comfort. That's why we call very severe climates, conditions, or treatment harsh.