harshness

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

There’s often a clarifying, poignant harshness in the losses they depict.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

To assess excessive punishment claims, Colorado courts begin by comparing “the gravity or seriousness of the offense to the harshness of the penalty.”

From Slate • Dec. 29, 2025

Without discounting the harshness of that imposed acculturation, he thanked what it gained him rather than resenting the means.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

Though judges frequently depart from the guidelines, introducing wide variability, "the risk of harshness is greater than in most countries" - particularly for high-profile cases, Prof Richman said.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2024

The sarcasm that had repelled, the harshness that had startled me once, were only like keen condiments in a choice dish: their presence was pungent, but their absence would be felt as comparatively insipid.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë