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harshly

 - 4 dictionary results

harsh

  [hahrsh]
Use harshly in a Sentence
–adjective
1. ungentle and unpleasant in action or effect: harsh treatment; harsh manners.
2. grim or unpleasantly severe; stern; cruel; austere: a harsh life; a harsh master.
3. physically uncomfortable; desolate; stark: a harsh land.
4. unpleasant to the ear; grating; strident: a harsh voice; a harsh sound.
5. unpleasantly rough, ragged, or coarse to the touch: a harsh surface.
6. jarring to the eye or to the esthetic sense; unrefined; crude; raw: harsh colors.
7. unpleasant to the taste or sense of smell; bitter; acrid: a harsh flavor; a harsh odor.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME harsk; c. G harsch, Dan harsk rancid

Related forms:
harshly, adverb
harshness, noun

Synonyms:
2. brusque, hard, unfeeling, unkind, brutal, acrimonious, bad-tempered. See stern 1 . 3. rough. 4. discordant, dissonant, unharmonious. 6. unesthetic.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To harshly
harsh   (härsh)   
adj.   harsh·er, harsh·est

  1. Unpleasantly coarse and rough to the touch. See Synonyms at rough.

  2. Disagreeable to the senses, especially to the sense of hearing.

  3. Severe, cruel, or exacting: harsh punishment; a harsh overseer.

  4. Unpleasant or uncomfortable: a harsh wilderness.


[Middle English harsk, of Scandinavian origin.]
harsh'ly adv., harsh'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
harsh

  1. mod.
    bad; rude. : She's a harsh lady and doesn't care how you feel.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

harsh 
originally of texture, "hairy," 1533, probably from harske "rough, coarse, sour" (c.1300), a northern word of Scand. origin (cf. Dan. and Norw. harsk "rancid, rank"), related to M.L.G. harsch "rough, raw," probably from PIE base *qars- "to scrape, scratch, rub" (cf. Lith. karsiu "to comb," O.C.S. krasta, Rus. korosta "to itch," L. carduus "thistle," Skt. kasati "rubs, scratches").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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