- harshness, abrasiveness, scratchiness - the roughness of a substance that causes abrasions
--1 is a kind of roughness
- harshness, roughness - harsh or rough to the ear
--2 is a kind of timbre, timber, quality, tone
--2 has particulars: gruffness, hoarseness, huskiness - cruelty, cruelness, harshness - the quality of being cruel and causing tension or annoyance
--3 is a kind of malevolence, malevolency, malice
--3 has particulars:ferociousness, brutality, viciousness, savageness, savagery; murderousness, bloodthirstiness - severity, harshness, rigor, rigour, inclemency, hardness, stiffness - excessive sternness; "severity of character"; "the harshness of his punishment was inhuman"; "the rigors of boot camp"
--4 is a kind of sternness, strictness