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
Trump harshly criticized Powell throughout his tenure as chair, frequently attacking the Fed’s interest-rate decisions and urging the central bank to cut borrowing costs more aggressively.
—
Leah Willingham, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026
Trump harshly criticized Powell throughout his tenure as chair, frequently attacking the Fed’s interest-rate decisions and urging the central bank to cut borrowing costs more aggressively.
—ABC News, 31 May 2026
The mayor’s proposal to cut that office was harshly criticized during the Wednesday hearing.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 May 2026
Viewed harshly, Hacks is less a great Hollywood comedy than a deeply coddling fantasy, but there’s also a softer, more interesting way to read it.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 May 2026
The market, however, graded Meta’s spending outlook hike more harshly than Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft even as their capex guides were even higher.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 28 May 2026
But advocates for charging reform said the state treats young offenders too harshly and locks many of them up without judicial discretion.
—Mike Hellgren, CBS News, 27 May 2026
Hair may be precious, but there’s no reason to treat the profession more harshly than those rescuing us in ambulances.
—Eric Zamparripa, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2026
But not everyone left out could feel too harshly treated.
—Rob Tanner, New York Times, 27 May 2026
Leah Willingham, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026
Trump harshly criticized Powell throughout his tenure as chair, frequently attacking the Fed’s interest-rate decisions and urging the central bank to cut borrowing costs more aggressively.
—ABC News, 31 May 2026
The mayor’s proposal to cut that office was harshly criticized during the Wednesday hearing.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 May 2026
Viewed harshly, Hacks is less a great Hollywood comedy than a deeply coddling fantasy, but there’s also a softer, more interesting way to read it.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 May 2026
The market, however, graded Meta’s spending outlook hike more harshly than Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft even as their capex guides were even higher.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 28 May 2026
But advocates for charging reform said the state treats young offenders too harshly and locks many of them up without judicial discretion.
—Mike Hellgren, CBS News, 27 May 2026
Hair may be precious, but there’s no reason to treat the profession more harshly than those rescuing us in ambulances.
—Eric Zamparripa, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2026
But not everyone left out could feel too harshly treated.
—Rob Tanner, New York Times, 27 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harshly
Adverb
-
Finally, if Anthropic is the third to go public, remember the market will be severely depleted of cash.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
31 May 2026
-
The explosion appears to have severely damaged the launch structure, LC36, along with the loss of the rocket.—
Space.com Staff,
Space.com,
30 May 2026
Adverb
-
Fortunately, this spell of hot temps will be a generally drier heat — not necessarily oppressively humid like is typical for New England.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
19 May 2026
-
The first of the four chapters is an oppressively gray-toned, narratively diffuse spy thriller, set amid the mists of what appears to be the Second World War.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
18 Dec. 2025
Adverb
-
In December of ‘91, Beuerlein came off the bench to fill in for injured starting quarterback Troy Aikman and led the Cowboys to an upset playoff win over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on a brutally cold day on Lake Michigan.—
Mac Engel
June 4,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 June 2026
-
In 2023, a Brazilian university student died while waiting for a brutally hot concert by the pop star.—
Rebecca Hersher,
NPR,
4 June 2026
Adverb
-
Fernando has no such accidents despite hitting the ball hard.—
Nick Canepa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 May 2026
-
The couple hard-launched their relationship in 2019 with their first red carpet appearance at the LACMA Art + Film Gala in LA.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harshly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harshly. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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