1. Unpleasantly stern
   "wild and harsh country full of hot sand and cactus";
   - rough
    
2. Unpleasantly rough or jarring to the senses
   "the harsh white light makes you screw up your eyes"; "harsh irritating smoke filled the hallway"; "the harsh cry of a blue jay"; "harsh cognac"
    
3. Of textures that are rough to the touch or substances consisting of relatively large particles
   "The harsh fabric irritated her skin";
   - coarse
    
4. Unkind, cruel or uncivil
   "had harsh words"; "a harsh and unlovable old tyrant";
   - rough
    
5. Severe
   "a harsh penalty"
    
6. Sharply disagreeable; rigorous
   "the harsh facts of court delays";
   - abrasive

1. Put a damper on (a mood)
   "well, that just totally harshed my buzz"

Derived forms: harsher, harshed, harshing, harshes, harshest

See also: coarse-grained, disagreeable, farinaceous, grainy, granular, granulated, granulose, gritty, heavy, large-grained, loose, mealy, open, plush-like, plushy, rough, texture, unkind, unpleasant, unsmooth

Encyclopedia: Harsh, Sikar