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
In a press conference later in the day, Mayor Frey, 44, harshly condemned the actions of ICE in his city and pushed back against the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) claims that the agent involved in the fatal shooting acted in self defense.
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Rachel McRady, PEOPLE, 8 Jan. 2026
One of his non-Jewish primary opponents, Palm Coast City Council member Charles Gambaro, harshly criticized Fine’s Gaza remarks and declared that Gambaro, too, would seek AIPAC’s endorsement.
—Andrew Lapin, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
The paramount leader has responded to Trump’s mercurial nature with an equally ambiguous stoicism — responding harshly with tariffs of his own while insisting that all these disagreements can be worked out diplomatically.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 1 Jan. 2026
Israeli officials have harshly criticized Australia's government for failing to protect Jewish people amid a sharp rise in recent years of antisemitic incidents.
—Tucker Reals, CBS News, 16 Dec. 2025
The New York daughter of classical musicians had been judged harshly before.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 30 Nov. 2025
The silence of the G-20 declaration on this and other jihadi atrocities on the continent is a moral disgrace, revealing the gathering to be a heartless charade that history will judge harshly.
—Paul Tilsley , Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 23 Nov. 2025
The 47-year-old governor has harshly criticized lawmakers for coming out with a multitude of solutions.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025
Human rights groups say Saudi authorities continue to harshly repress dissent, including by arresting human rights defenders, journalists and political dissidents for criticism against the kingdom.
—Arkansas Online, 19 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harshly
Adverb
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In the ninth century, a severely disabled woman was buried, her feet bound, in an annex of the church in Elsau, outside Zürich.—
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The time is never right to severely chop off your crape myrtle.—
Adverb
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The second planet from the sun has a completely inhospitable surface, with temperatures reaching 863 degrees Fahrenheit (462 degrees Celsius) and a crushing pressure underneath an oppressively thick atmosphere.—
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On an oppressively hot Friday in July, plumes of smoke curl up from Arnolds Field.—
Adverb
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But those guards fell crashing down on Wednesday night in a brutally honest assessment of his team following Boise State’s (9-6, 1-3 Mountain West) 75-58 home loss to Grand Canyon (9-5, 2-1) at ExtraMile Arena.—
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The result was over a century of catastrophe, not just for ordinary Europeans but also for the people of numerous African countries that were colonized, often brutally.—
Adverb
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Alexandria has been really hard hit, down 50% in that period.—
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For instance, walking most days is far better than exercising hard once a month.—
Cite this Entry
“Harshly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harshly. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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