harsh

Formsharshes, harshing, harshed

1. 1
   adjective

   Severe or cruel in treatment, judgment, or effect.

   Critics called the new policy harsh and unforgiving toward low-income families.

   The coach was famous for his harsh discipline and brutal training sessions.

   Similarsevere, stern, cruel, hard, grim

   Oppositelenient, gentle, kind, merciful

2. 2
   adjective

   Unpleasantly rough or grating to the touch, hearing, sight, or other senses.

   The detergent felt harsh against his sensitive skin.

   Her voice took on a harsh, grating edge when she was tired.

   Similarrough, coarse, abrasive, uneven, jagged

   Oppositegentle, soft, mild, soothing

   Note

   The word came into English from the north: Middle English harsk, traced to Old Norse harskr, whose Danish descendant harsk means "rancid." English stretched it across every sense, so a voice, a light, a fabric or a soap can all be harsh. Coarse is its nearest neighbor for texture. Scabrous is the bookish alternative, describing a surface that is rough and scaly.

3. 3
   verbslangtransitive or intransitive

   To spoil or take the enjoyment out of someone's good mood.

   Try not to harsh the celebration with bad news tonight.

   Her constant complaining harshed the relaxed atmosphere at the cabin.

   Similarspoil, dampen, ruin, sour

   Oppositebrighten, enliven

   Note

   A slang verb that wants a mood for its object: harsh my buzz, harsh someone's mellow, harsh my groove. A possessive usually comes before the mood noun. In Kurt Andersen's Turn of the Century (1999), a man hears "You're sort of harshing my mellow" and wonders whether the speaker is stupid, a reminder of how it can land. Followed by on, it drifts toward the criticizing sense.

4. 4
   verbslangtransitive or intransitive

   To criticize someone or something in a strongly negative way.

   Stop harshing every idea I bring to the meeting.

   Reviewers were quick to harsh the film for its predictable ending.

   Similarcriticize, slam, knock, pan, trash

   Oppositepraise

   Note

   Slang that turns the adjective into a verb, and it works with or without on: quit harshing me, stop harshing on yourself. In Richard Powers's Gain (2009) a father stops short at it ("Harshing?"), which is a fair sign of whose word it is. Keep it to casual talk among friends. In writing, criticize or come down on does the same job without the slang.

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