過酷 (かこく)severe; harsh; hard

severe; harsh; hardadjectival nouns or quasi-adjectives (keiyodoshi), noun (common) (futsuumeishi)

過酷, its kanji, and other words that share them.Open this graph

Kanji in 過酷

過去かこthe past; bygone days
過程かていprocess; course
過半数かはんすうmajority
経過けいかpassage (of time); elapsing
過激かげきextreme; radical
通過つうかpassing through (a tunnel, station, town, etc.); passing by (e.g. of a typhoon)
過ぎすぎpast; after
過剰かじょうexcess; surplus
残酷ざんこくcruel; brutal
酷似こくじresembling closely; being strikingly similar
酷こくsevere; harsh
冷酷れいこくcruelty; coldheartedness
酷いひどいcruel; heartless
酷くひどくvery much; terribly
酷使こくしexploitation; overuse
酷寒こっかんsevere cold; intense cold

See how 過酷 connects to the rest of Japanese.