as in severely
in a manner so as to cause loss or suffering
treated the prisoners harshly, and many died
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Recent Examples of harshly
Overthinking and procrastination are two of the habits people confess to most readily and blame on themselves most harshly, and two of the habits most often misread.
—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2026
That can be useful because jurors can be more reluctant to sentence a woman harshly, writes Victor Streib, a law professor at Elon University in North Carolina who has researched the treatment of women on death row.
—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
29 June 2026
The president has harshly criticized judges who have ruled against him, and his administration has sometimes defied their orders.
—
Nicholas Riccardi,
Los Angeles Times,
28 June 2026
After Argentina’s underwhelming showing in 2010—Messi didn’t score that year, with an inexperienced Maradona as coach—many pundits in the country began to criticize him harshly, calling him pecho frío, slang for someone lacking heart.
—
Jordan Salama,
New Yorker,
27 June 2026
By the end of the third Avatar movie, the RDA is the one being judged (harshly) by the nightmare-inducing cephalopods.
—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
24 June 2026
But its conditions have been harshly criticized by l awyers, families and human rights groups, who have persistently denounced the mistreatment of detainees since the center opened 11 months ago, during the Atlantic hurricane season.
—
ABC News,
17 June 2026
The peak came as the Great Recession, touched off by a housing and financial crisis, rippled harshly through the global economy.
—
Kenneth R. Gosselin,
Hartford Courant,
14 June 2026
In 2022, North Korea harshly rejected a South Korean aid offer.
—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
10 June 2026
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2026
That can be useful because jurors can be more reluctant to sentence a woman harshly, writes Victor Streib, a law professor at Elon University in North Carolina who has researched the treatment of women on death row.
—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
29 June 2026
The president has harshly criticized judges who have ruled against him, and his administration has sometimes defied their orders.
—
Nicholas Riccardi,
Los Angeles Times,
28 June 2026
After Argentina’s underwhelming showing in 2010—Messi didn’t score that year, with an inexperienced Maradona as coach—many pundits in the country began to criticize him harshly, calling him pecho frío, slang for someone lacking heart.
—
Jordan Salama,
New Yorker,
27 June 2026
By the end of the third Avatar movie, the RDA is the one being judged (harshly) by the nightmare-inducing cephalopods.
—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
24 June 2026
But its conditions have been harshly criticized by l awyers, families and human rights groups, who have persistently denounced the mistreatment of detainees since the center opened 11 months ago, during the Atlantic hurricane season.
—
ABC News,
17 June 2026
The peak came as the Great Recession, touched off by a housing and financial crisis, rippled harshly through the global economy.
—
Kenneth R. Gosselin,
Hartford Courant,
14 June 2026
In 2022, North Korea harshly rejected a South Korean aid offer.
—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
10 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harshly
Adverb
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Atmos is already facing a lawsuit over the explosion from a resident who was severely burned.
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Nearby Elephant Butte Lake, a draw for outdoorsy tourists, is so severely drought-depleted that sunbaked fish carcasses line its shores.
Adverb
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The oppressively hot and steamy weather was no deterrent for the crowds that lined up along Crandon Boulevard on Saturday to celebrate America’s independence at Key Biscayne’s 67th Fourth of July parade.
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Fortunately, this spell of hot temps will be a generally drier heat — not necessarily oppressively humid like is typical for New England.
Adverb
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Instead, the Philippine independence movement was brutally suppressed.
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On a brutally hot afternoon at MetLife Stadium, the site of the World Cup final in July 19, France outshot Sweden 25-7, including 15-3 in the first half.
Adverb
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That means many households will be paying more per kilowatt-hour at the same time air conditioners are running longer and harder, a combination that can quickly drive up summer statements.
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Progressive lawmakers had pushed hard for state leaders to protect health care for undocumented immigrants.
Cite this Entry
“Harshly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harshly. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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