It wasn't harsh or hitting you hard, it was soothing.

BBC: Cleotha Staples of The Staple Singers dies at 78

Even by harsh Alaska standards, this was a hard winter, as a storm track shifted north and stayed.

WSJ: Winter Seems Eternal in Anchorage, Alaska

The cuts seem harsh just now, when times are hard, but they would be spread over ten years.

ECONOMIST: Agriculture

No matter how we set the dials, the sound of guitar came out very harsh and hard to make out.

ENGADGET: Vox jams guitar amps into Audio-Technica headphones, dubs them Amphones (ears-on)

That may sound harsh and uncaring, and libertarians will rightly cringe at the idea that the government should decide how hard people be working.

FORBES: What We Need Is A Randomized Minimum Wage

The harsh, explosive consonants and the action-focused, verb-heavy monosyllables instantly immerse us in the hard, violent world of the goblins, who take pleasure in acts of cruelty.

WSJ: The Grown-Up Pleasures of 'The Hobbit'