be rough on (someone)

idiom

: to punish or criticize (someone) harshly

Don't be so rough on them for making a mistake.

Examples of be rough on (someone) in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Goaltenders put on a show The All-Star weekend is supposed to be rough on goalies, but there were outstanding performances. —Mike Brehm, USA TODAY, 3 Feb. 2024

To buy: Kindle Paperwhite Kids 16GB Bundle $110 (was $170) Kids can be rough on things, and Amazon knows this. —Dorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 10 Oct. 2023

A little more detail: For many adults, jumping right back into jumping can be rough on the joints. —Greg Presto, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Apr. 2022

Summer can be rough on your body: faces burned by the sun, forearms scraped by rough climbs, throats parched from dehydration, chlorine drying your hair, ocean salt stinging your eyes. —Dakota Kim, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2023

Kids can be rough on their headphones and have a tendency to twist or even bite the cables. —Fiona Tapp, CNN Underscored, 24 Nov. 2020

Winter means hard times for deer, rabbits and other animals — and that can be rough on your garden plants. —Jim Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 3 Oct. 2020

Coslus Facial Cleansing Brush Now 70% Off $12 at Amazon Pros Waterproof Comes in several colors Cons Some attachments can be rough on sensitive skin Amazon's bestselling facial cleansing brush comes with seven different heads, all of which provide different levels of exfoliation and massage. —Sabrina Talbert, Women's Health, 16 Mar. 2023

These next few years might be rough on the legion of irrational LeBron Haters. —Dan Shaughnessy, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Jan. 2023