Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use harsh in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, verb

Harsh means unpleasantly rough to the touch or other senses. Example: “Quit harshing me already, I said that I was sorry!”

Examples of harsh by meaning

adjectiveSevere or cruel.

  • Partly because of the heavy burden of government debt built up during his stewardship, and the uncurbed recklessness of the country’s banks, Britain’s recession is already the harshest in Western Europe.2009 March 29, John F. Burns, “Anglo-American Capitalism on Trial”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 26 Sep 2015
  • Great news for City, but the result was harsh on Neil Warnock's side who gave as good as they got even though the odds were stacked against them.2011 November 5, Phil Dawkes, “QPR 2 - 3 Man City”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 18 Mar 2017

verbTo negatively criticize.

  • Quit harshing me already, I said that I was sorry!
  • Stop harshing on yourself.2008, An Na, The Fold
  • “Stop harshing on me, Daddy.” “Harshing?” “Don't yell at me.2009, Richard Powers, Gain

verbTo put a damper on (a mood).

  • Dude, you're harshing my buzz.
  • They're always harshing on the plan, but we're still going through with it.
  • On their third date, Lizzie had actually said to him, "You're sort of harshing my mellow." It made him wonder if she might be stupid, and not just young.1999, Kurt Andersen, Turn of the century, page 508

More sentences with harsh

  • A legislative remedy might be some harsh medicine; is that cure worse than the ill?From the entry medicine
  • If the government doesn't tighten the money supply, inflation is certain to be harsh.From the entry tighten
  • It didn't freeze this winter, but last winter was very harsh.From the entry freeze
  • She has a gift for sugaring what would otherwise be harsh words.From the entry sugar
  • Her harsh words might turn them off from participating any further.From the entry turn off
  • The harsh desert wind and sand had chewed the stump into ragged strips of wood.From the entry chew
  • The harsh comments from the coach humiliated the player in front of the team.From the entry humiliate
  • The crew of the Bounty mutinied because of the harsh discipline of Captain Bligh.From the entry mutiny
  • Arabic is considered a very guttural language, with many harsh consonants.From the entry guttural
  • Your harsh words could do a number on my mental health.From the entry do a number on
  • He wrote a polite retraction, as an apology of sorts for his harsh words.From the entry of sorts
  • Her eyes began to tear in the harsh wind.From the entry tear
  • The harsh summer sun burned his skin.From the entry burn
  • I was stung by her harsh criticisms.From the entry criticism
  • Through genetic manipulation and harsh training, I am breeding a species of super-dogs to take over the world.From the entry breeding
  • The conditions they are living in are harsh but survivable.From the entry survivable
  • His response was harsh and acid.From the entry acid
  • Limit your exposure to harsh chemicals.From the entry exposure
  • At Magazine, thousands of artisans including fitters, welders and spare parts dealers work under harsh conditions.2019 August 27, Daniel Kenu, “Suame Magazine artisans appeal for support”, in Graphic Online. From the entry magazine
  • Baltiel had always been the iceman, harsh and distant and lacking in sentiment.2019, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Children of Ruin, Macmillan, pages 267–268. From the entry iceman
  • The vellichor of the place hit me in the face like a cold harsh wind.2019, Brooke Santoyo, Hanakatoba, page 36. From the entry vellichor
  • Someone was standing in the hidden entrance, silhouetted against a harsh electric light.2018, Alex T. Smith, Mr Penguin and the Fortress of Secrets: Book 2, page 201. From the entry swizzle
  • Despite prolonged exposure to harsh conditions, medics say Nora Tallis returned to the Nexus in stable condition.2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: ELAADEN (HNS) - Nora Tallis…. From the entry mince
  • He shoved Jessie off but Jessie came back and wailed on him something harsh.2017, Tanya Reimer, Cursed on the Prairies: a Sacred Land Story. From the entry wail on
  • Fun fact: The red-bellied woodpecker has a loud, harsh, rich "quirrr" call.2016 February 18, “Species Spotlight: Red-bellied woodpecker”, in Poughkeepsie Journal, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.: Gannett Co., Inc., →OCLC…. From the entry chig
  • But what this shows is that Richard was not really a strong-handed ruler or a harsh person.2015, John Ashdown-Hill, The Mythology of Richard III, →ISBN, page viii. From the entry strong-handed
  • Any alleviation of the harshest measures toward the Catholics always aroused strong protests from the Romanophobes.2013, Paul H. Hardacre, The Royalists during the Puritan Revolution, →ISBN, page 63. From the entry Romanophobe
  • Harsh ratcheting sounds came from outside the SUV, penetrating the constant feed from the military band radio.2013, Mel Odom, Renegade, Tyndale, →ISBN, page 162. From the entry militaryspeak
  • These words may seem a bit harsh, but they were supposedly said with a loving sentiment.2008, Theresa Renee White, Media as Pedagogy and Socializing Agent. From the entry who shot John
  • Surviving was too harsh, to worry about the life of another Gnome.2007, Shadow on the Land page 115. From the entry gnomess
  • A Prussian proposal for a harsh penal code made male homosexuality an even more serious crime.2004 June 10, Leslie Feinberg, “The love that dared to speak its name”, in Workers World. From the entry homosexuality
  • The eastside was an area fit for Mule because of his harsh no-nonsense approach to doing business.2004, Richard Paloma, The Beach Club, page 26. From the entry eastside

Meaning of harsh

  1. adjective Unpleasantly rough to the touch or other senses.
  2. adjective Severe or cruel.
  3. verb To negatively criticize.

Full definition of harsh

Questions about harsh in a sentence

How do you use harsh in a sentence?
Harsh is used as an adjective and verb. For example: “Quit harshing me already, I said that I was sorry!”
What is a short sentence with harsh?
“Stop harshing on yourself.”
What does harsh mean?
Harsh means unpleasantly rough to the touch or other senses.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: harsh (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use harsh in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/harsh. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.