harsh

I adjective acerb, acerbic, acid, acrid, acrimonious, ascetic, astringent, austere, biting, bitter, brusque, brutal, burning, caustic, corrosive, crude, cruel, despiteful, discordant, disrespectful, draconian, drastic, excessive, extreme, feral, ferine, ferocious, grating, grim, grueling, gruff, ill-natured, incisive, inclement, inharmonious, inhuman, inhumane, intense, merciless, mordacious, mordant, noisome, noxious, oppressive, piercing, pitiless, punishing, rancorous, rigorous, rough, ruthless, savage, scathing, severe, sharp, stern, stinging, strident, stridulous, stringent, surly, truculent, uncomforting, unconsoling, unfeeling, unflattering, ungentle, ungracious, unkind, unkindly, unmerciful, unmitigated, unpitying, unsympathetic, untender, virulent, vituperative, withering associated concepts: cruel and unusual punishment, harsh penalty, harsh rule II index astringent, bitter (penetrating), blatant (obtrusive), brutal, caustic, close (rigorous), contemptuous, cruel, draconian, drastic, hostile, incisive, insufferable, lurid, malevolent, mordacious, obdurate, offensive (offending), onerous, oppressive, pejorative, relentless, rigid, ruthless, scathing, severe, spiteful, strict, stringent, strong, tyrannous