harsh
part of speech
adjective (harsh, harsher, harshest); adverb harshly
meaning for a pupil
1) Cruel, unkind or too strict: «a harsh punishment», «harsh words». tree →
2) Very difficult to live in: «a harsh winter», «a harsh desert». tree →
3) Unpleasant to the senses: too loud, bright or rough: «harsh light», «a harsh voice». tree →
4) (slang) Unfair or a bit mean: «That's harsh, mate!» tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories harsh weather and harsh rulers make life hard for characters. In science lessons «harsh environments» like deserts and the Arctic show how animals adapt. In everyday kid talk «harsh!» means «that's unfair». Phrases: «harsh conditions», «harsh reality», «harsh words», «be harsh on someone».
examples
- The punishment was too harsh for such a small mistake. tree →
- Polar bears live in a harsh climate. tree →
- The harsh light hurt my eyes. tree →
- Don't be so harsh on your little brother. tree →
- «You got detention for that? Harsh!» tree →
- The coach's harsh words made him cry. tree →
- Camels can survive harsh desert conditions. tree →
- Fionn’s brother, Cairell Whiteskin, broke into the conversation with a harsh laugh. tree →
note
Regular comparison: harsher, harshest. Noun: harshness. Opposites: gentle, mild, soft. Spelling: one s, then h.
In the corpora
- TV talent shows are edited to be dramatic, so harsh comments and tears are often shown more because they get more viewers.
- Long ago people made soap by boiling fat with lye from wood ash, a very harsh alkali, so not a kitchen experiment.
- Some families have one warm parent and one cold or harsh one.
- Proverbs 15:1 says «A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger».
- Good understanding giveth grace; but the way of the faithless is harsh.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «harsh» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.