harsher

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rough, crude (to the senses) adj.
nasty, abusive adj.

ADJECTIVE

rough, crude (to the senses)

Synonyms

STRONGEST

bitter bleak grim hard rigid severe sharp strident

STRONG

coarse

WEAK

acrid asperous astringent cacophonous caterwauling clashing cracked craggy creaking croaking disagreeing discordant dissonant disturbing earsplitting flat glaring grating guttural hoarse incompatible jagged jangling jarring noisy not smooth off-key out-of-key out-of-tune rasping raucous rugged rusty screeching sour stridulous tuneless uneven unlevel unmelodious unmusical unrelenting

Antonyms

STRONGEST

bland bright calm cheerful easy facile flexible kind low mild moderate nice pleasant pliable pliant soft sunny yielding

WEAK

courteous gentle peaceful pleasing polite smooth

ADJECTIVE

nasty, abusive

Synonyms

STRONGEST

bitter brutal cruel grim hard punitive relentless rude ruthless severe sharp stern stringent tough unkind unpleasant

WEAK

austere comfortless cussed discourteous dour gruff hairy hard-boiled hard-nosed hard-shell mean pitiless uncivil unfeeling ungracious unrelenting wicked

Antonyms

STRONGEST

agreeable bland calm cheerful compassionate considerate easy facile flexible friendly gentle giving good inexact kind merciful mild nice pleasant sympathetic tolerant wonderful

WEAK

courteous peaceful pleasing polite smooth soft

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.

See Examples For:

harsher

Australian victim Bianca Jones' parents also criticised the Laos authorities for not pursuing harsher charges.

From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026

And “Everything,” co-produced by Italian duo Parisi, has the harsher sawtooth grind of contemporary EDM.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

The sentences handed down in the case were widely panned as extreme, considering the actual actions of the defendants and their lack of the sort of criminal records that would typically result in harsher sentencing.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

In its statement on Saturday, the government acknowledged some of these challenges, and said the harsher penalties were evidence that it was "doubling down on platforms that are not doing enough".

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026

It’s leaning against the front of the house like it does every summer—a reminder of colder, harsher times.

From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt