harshening
Becoming more severe
Harshening is the process of becoming or making harsher—more severe, rough, or unpleasant.
Weather harshens as winter approaches.
A voice harshens with anger or age.
The harshening of immigration policy drove families apart.
The word is uncommon but transparent in meaning.
Increasing by degrees
- worseningBecoming more severe
- aggravatingCausing irritation or worsening
- exacerbatingMaking something worse
- amplifyingIncreasing strength or intensity
heightening · deepening · sharpening · strengthening · increasing · magnifying · accentuating · compounding
Crossed bars or harsh
- jarringDisturbingly incongruous
- ranklingContinuing to annoy
- vexingCausing mild torment
- nettlingCausing petty irritation
rasping · abrasiveness · discordance · stridency · cacophony · dissonance · friction · chafing
Making less smooth
- coarseningBecoming more crude
- abradingEroding by friction
- gratingCrossed bars or harsh
- scratchingRaking with nails
scraping · chafing · rasping · weathering · eroding · wearing · pitting · scouring
Making less loose
- sternnessUncompromising strictness of manner
- rigorStrict, thorough precision
- austerityEnforced economic stringency
- brutalizationSystematic infliction of cruelty
cruelty · oppression · repression · draconian · mercilessness · punitiveness · authoritarianism · inflexibility
escalating
Increasing by degrees
- worseningBecoming more severe
- aggravatingCausing irritation or worsening
- exacerbatingMaking something worse
amplifying · heightening · deepening · sharpening · strengthening · increasing · magnifying · accentuating · compounding · redoubling
grating
Crossed bars or harsh
nettling · rasping · abrasiveness · discordance · stridency · cacophony · dissonance · friction · chafing · annoying
roughening
Making less smooth
- coarseningBecoming more crude
- abradingEroding by friction
- gratingCrossed bars or harsh
scratching · scraping · chafing · rasping · weathering · eroding · wearing · pitting · scouring · fraying
tightening
Making less loose
- sternnessUncompromising strictness of manner
- rigorStrict, thorough precision
- austerityEnforced economic stringency
brutalization · cruelty · oppression · repression · draconian · mercilessness · punitiveness · authoritarianism · inflexibility · rigidity