different between harsh vs intolerable

English

Etymology

From Middle English harsk, harisk(e), hask(e), herris. Century derived the term from Old Norse harskr (whence Danish harsk (“rancid”), dialectal Norwegian hersk, Swedish härsk); the Middle English Dictionary derives it from that and Middle Low German harsch (“rough”, literally “hairy”) (whence also German harsch), from haer (“hair”); the Oxford Dictionary of English derives it from Middle Low German alone.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /h???/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /h???/
• Rhymes: -??(?)?

Adjective

harsh (comparative harsher, superlative harshest)

1. Unpleasantly rough to the touch or other senses.
2. Severe or cruel.

Antonyms

• genteel

Translations

Verb

harsh (third-person singular simple present harshes, present participle harshing, simple past and past participle harshed)

1. (intransitive, slang) To negatively criticize.
2. (transitive, slang) to put a damper on (a mood).

Synonyms

• rough

Derived terms

• harshly
• harshness

Translations

English

Alternative forms

• untolerable (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle French intolerable, from Latin intoler?bilis. Synchronically, in- +? tolerable.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?n?t?l???bl?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?n?t?l???bl?/
• Hyphenation: in?tol?er?able

Adjective

intolerable (comparative more intolerable, superlative most intolerable)

1. not tolerable; not capable of being borne or endured

   Synonyms: insufferable, insupportable, unbearable

2. extremely offensive or insulting.
   • 1971, William S. Burroughs, The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead, page 4

     It is an intolerable sound that sets spoons tinkling in saucers and windowpanes vibrating.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "intolerable" is often applied: cruelty, burden, situation, condition, pain, heat, position, life, state, suffering, evil, risk, insult, hardship, agony, behavior, affront, insolence, stress, consequence, people.

Derived terms

Translations

References

• intolerable in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• intolerable in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin intoler?bilis. Synchronically, in- +? tolerable.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /in.to.l???a.bl?/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /in.tu.l???a.bl?/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /in.to.le??a.ble/

Adjective

intolerable (masculine and feminine plural intolerables)

1. intolerable

   Synonym: insuportable

   Antonym: tolerable

Derived terms

• intolerablement

Related terms

• intolerabilitat

Further reading

• “intolerable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “intolerable” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “intolerable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “intolerable” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin intoler?bilis. Synchronically, in- +? tolerable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /intole??able/, [?n?.t?o.le??a.??le]

Adjective

intolerable (plural intolerables)

1. intolerable

   Synonym: insoportable

   Antonym: tolerable

Related terms

• intolerabilidad

Further reading

• “intolerable” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.