harsh

CEFRC1

/ˈhɑːʃ/

adjective · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Unpleasantly rough, severe, or unkind.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Severe or cruel.

Examples

  • I stepped outside and was bathed in the harsh, direct sunlight.

  • The punishment was harsh and unfair.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • [ˈhäːʃ] ~ /ˈhɐ̞ːʃ/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. To negatively criticize.

  2. Unpleasantly rough to the touch or other senses.

verb

Extra meaning

  1. To put a damper on (a mood).

More examples

In context

  • The tundra has a harsh climate.

  • harsh decision

  • harsh penalty

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

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The blank winter caused many pipes to freeze and burst.

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Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English harsk, harisk(e), hask(e), herris. Century derived the term from Old Norse harskr (whence Danish harsk (“rancid”), dialectal Norwegian hersk, Swedish härsk, Swedish härsken); the Middle English Dictionary derives it from that and Middle Low German harsch (“rough”, literally “hairy”) (whence also German harsch), from haer (“hair”), from Old Saxon hār, from Proto-West Germanic *hār; the Oxford Dictionary of English derives it from Middle Low German alone.