harsh vs stinging

harsh

adj
  • Severe or cruel. 

  • Unpleasantly rough to the touch or other senses. 

verb
  • To negatively criticize. 

  • To put a damper on (a mood). 

stinging

adj
  • Precise and hurtful. 

  • Having the capacity to sting. 

noun
  • The act by which someone receives a sting. 

How often have the words harsh and stinging occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )