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"harshly" is also used as a crossword clue. If that's what you saw, the answer is often severely (8 letters).
Definitions
in a harsh and grating manner
Word origin
From harsh + -ly.
Used in a sentence
“Yet, if I name my guilt, 't is not to boast, / None can deem harshlier of me than I deem [...].”
“The traveller hears me now and then, And sometimes harshly will he speak: ‘This fellow would make weakness weak, And melt the waxen hearts of men.’”
“Oh, those cruel and blitheless asses! Did they know my thoughts, my dreams, as I searched the sweet mystery of myself for the hidden meaning of my life? They did not. They judged me harshly for a few paltry actions.”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“In a severe way”7 letters
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