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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Harsh \Harsh\ (h[aum]rsh), adjective [Compar. {Harsher} (h[aum]rsh"[~e]r); superl. {Harshest}.] [OE. harsk; akin to G. harsch, Dan. harsk rancid, Sw. h["a]rsk; from the same source as E. hard. See {Hard}, adjective]
1. Rough; disagreeable; grating; esp.: (a) disagreeable to the touch. ''Harsh sand.'' --Boyle. (b) disagreeable to the taste. ''Berries harsh and crude.'' --Milton. (c) disagreeable to the ear. ''Harsh din.'' --Milton.
2. Unpleasant and repulsive to the sensibilities; austere; crabbed; morose; abusive; abusive; severe; rough.
Clarence is so harsh, so blunt. --Shak.
Though harsh the precept, yet the preacher charmed. --Dryden.
3. (Painting, Drawing, etc.) Having violent contrasts of color, or of light and shade; lacking in harmony.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
harsh
adjective
1: unpleasantly stern; "wild and harsh country full of hot sand and cactus"; "the nomad life is rough and hazardous" [syn: {rough}]
2: disagreeable to the senses; "the harsh cry of a blue jay"; "harsh cognac"; "the harsh white light makes you screw up your eyes"; "harsh irritating smoke filled the hallway"
3: extremely unkind or cruel; "had harsh words"; "a harsh and unlovable old tyrant"
4: severe; "a harsh penalty"
5: used of circumstances (especially weather) that cause suffering; "brutal weather"; "northern winters can be cruel"; "a cruel world"; "a harsh climate"; "a rigorous climate"; "unkind winters" [syn: {brutal}, {cruel}, {rigorous}, {unkind}]
6: sharply disagreeable; rigorous; "the harsh facts of court delays"; "an abrasive character" [syn: {abrasive}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
333 Moby Thesaurus words for "harsh": Doric, Draconian, Spartan, Spartanic, abrupt, absonant, abusive, acerb, acerbic, acid, acidulous, acrid, acrimonious, acute, afflictive, aggressive, agonizing, ajar, amaroidal, asperous, astringent, atonal, atrocious, austere, authoritarian, barbaric, barbarous, bearish, beastly, bilious, biting, bitter, bitter as gall, blaring, bleak, bluff, blunt, blurred, bowelless, brash, brassy, brazen, breathy, bristly, brusque, brutal, brutish, burdensome, burning, cacophonous, caustic, cavalier, choked, choking, choleric, churlish, clashing, clumsy, coarse, colliding, comfortless, conflicting, confused, corrugated, cracked, cragged, craggy, cramping, crinkled, croaking, croaky, cross, crude, cruel, crumpled, crusty, curt, cutting, demanding, diaphonic, disagreeable, discomforting, disconsonant, discordant, discourteous, disharmonic, disharmonious, dissonant, distressing, dog-eat-dog, doggerel, double-edged, dour, drawling, drawly, dry, dysphemistic, dysphonic, ear-piercing, edged, escharotic, exacting, excruciating, exhausting, exigent, fierce, flat, flinty, gnawing, graceless, granular, grating, grave, gravelly, grim, grinding, griping, gross, grouchy, gruff, guttural, hairy, hard, harrowing, harsh-sounding, hawking, heartless, heavy, hoarse, hurtful, hurting, husky, immelodious, impolite, improper, impure, in bad taste, inarticulate, incisive, inclement, inconcinnate, inconcinnous, incongruous, incorrect, indecorous, indistinct, inelegant, inexorable, infelicitous, inharmonic, inharmonious, inhuman, intemperate, irascible, ironbound, irritating, jagged, jaggy, jangling, jangly, jarring, jostling, keen, lisping, loose, low, merciless, metallic, meticulous, mispronounced, mordacious, mordant, musicless, muzzy, nasal, nasty, nonmelodious, nose-tickling, off, off-color, off-key, off-tone, onerous, oppressive, out of pitch, out of tone, out of tune, outlandish, overburdensome, painful, paroxysmal, peevish, penetrating, petulant, piercing, piquant, pitiless, poignant, pungent, punishing, punitive, quavering, racking, ragged, rasping, raucid, raucous, relentless, remorseless, rigorous, rockbound, rocky, rough, roupy, rude, rugged, rugose, rugous, rusty, ruthless, sarcastic, saw-toothed, sawtooth, scabrous, scathing, scragged, scraggly, scraggy, scraping, scratchy, serrate, serrated, severe, shaggy, shaking, shaky, sharp, shooting, short, short-tempered, shrill, snagged, snaggled, snaggy, snippy, snuffling, sour, spasmatic, spasmic, spasmodic, splenetic, squawking, squawky, squeaky, stabbing, stark, stern, stertorous, stifled, stinging, stony, strangled, strict, strident, stridulous, stringent, stubbly, sullen, surly, tangy, tart, tasteless, thick, throaty, tinny, tormenting, torturous, tough, tremulous, trenchant, truculent, tuneless, twangy, tyrannical, tyrannous, uncivil, uncompassionate, uncompassioned, uncourtly, uncouth, undignified, uneuphonious, uneven, unfeeling, unfelicitous, unforgiving, unfriendly, ungentle, ungraceful, unharmonious, unkind, unlevel, unmelodious, unmerciful, unmusical, unpitiful, unpitying, unpleasant, unpolished, unrefined, unremorseful, unseemly, unsmooth, unsparing, unsympathetic, unsympathizing, untunable, untuned, untuneful, unyielding, vehement, velar, violent, virulent, vitriolic, vulgar, warring, waspish, wearing, wearying, weighty, without mercy, wrinkled
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