harsh

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See also: Harsh

English

Etymology

From Middle English harsk, harisk(e), hask(e), herris. Century derived the term from Old Norse harskr (whence Danish harsk (“rancid”), dialectal Norwegian hersk, Swedish härsk); the Middle English Dictionary derives it from that and Middle Low German harsch (“rough”, literally “hairy”) (whence also German harsch), from haer (“hair”), from Old Saxon hār, from Proto-West Germanic *hār; the Oxford Dictionary of English derives it from Middle Low German alone.

Pronunciation

Adjective

harsh (comparative harsher or more harsh, superlative harshest or most harsh)

  1. Unpleasantly rough to the touch or other senses.
    Synonyms: coarse, scabrous; see also Thesaurus:rough
  2. Severe or cruel.
    Synonyms: callous, severe; see also Thesaurus:stern
    Antonym: genteel
    harsh decision
    harsh penalty
    harsh teacher
    harsh rule
    harsh ruling
    • 2011 November 5, Phil Dawkes, “QPR 2 - 3 Man City”, in BBC Sport‎:
      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.

Derived terms

Translations

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Verb

harsh (third-person singular simple present harshes, present participle harshing, simple past and past participle harshed)

  1. (intransitive, slang) To negatively criticize.
    Quit harshing me already, I said that I was sorry!
    • 2008, An Na, The Fold:
      Stop harshing on yourself. Who said you're the ugly sister?
    • 2009, Richard Powers, Gain:
      “Stop harshing on me, Daddy.” “Harshing?” “Don't yell at me. I didn't do anything.”
  2. (transitive, slang) To 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.
    • 1999, Kurt Andersen, Turn of the century, page 508:
      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.
    • 2003, Robert Ludlum, The Janson Directive, page 355:
      "They're mostly mercenaries these days. But whose?" "Serbian mercenaries? You're harshing my groove, man. I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that...."
    • 2006, MaryJanice Davidson, Undead and Unpopular, page 776:
      "Getting back to the issue of the child," Tina said, harshing our buzz as usual, "I really think you should reconsider...."
    • 2008, Kate William with Francine Pascal, Secrets - Page 70:
      He's totally harshing my vibe," Lila said airily. "Someone should tell him to get over himself. He's lucky I even invited him!"

Synonyms

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Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. ^ Krapp, George Philip (1925) The English Language in America‎, volume II, New York: Century Co. for the Modern Language Association of America, →OCLC, page 222.
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