noun
Meaning 1
The quality of being harsh.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
harshness
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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CMU ARPABET: HH AA1 R SH N AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
excessive sternness
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- severity of character
- the harshness of his punishment was inhuman
- the rigors of boot camp
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: severity, severeness, rigor, rigour, rigorousness, rigourousness, inclemency, hardness, stiffness
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: sternness, strictness
noun
Meaning 3
the quality of being cruel and causing tension or annoyance
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: cruelty, cruelness
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: malevolence, malevolency, malice
Narrower terms: ferociousness, brutality, viciousness, savagery, murderousness
noun
Meaning 4
the roughness of a substance that causes abrasions
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: abrasiveness, scratchiness
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: roughness, raggedness
noun
Meaning 5
the quality of being unpleasant (harsh or rough or grating) to the senses
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: roughness
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: unpleasantness
Narrower terms: gruffness, hoarseness, huskiness
History
Etymology
From Middle English harsknes; equivalent to harsh + -ness.
Across languages
Translations
8 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Arabic: جَلَافَة (jalāfa) — quality of being harsh
- Catalan: cruesa — quality of being harsh
- Ancient Greek: χαλεπότης (khalepótēs) — quality of being harsh
- Hindi: क्रूरता (krūrtā) — quality of being harsh
- Irish: gairge — quality of being harsh
- Polish: bezpardonowość — quality of being harsh
- Polish: bezwzględność — quality of being harsh
- Turkish: şiddet — quality of being harsh