1
as in painful
hard to accept or bear especially emotionally
a harrowing portrayal of the ravages of war
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2
as in wrenching
intensely or unbearably painful
the harrowing amputations without any anesthetic that soldiers and sailors once were forced to endure
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as in plaguing
to cause persistent suffering to
the villagers were gaunt and sickly, harrowed by years of disease and starvation
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Examples of harrowing in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Alamin Yohannes, EW.com, 17 Oct. 2024
Some of this year’s cases are inarguable — for instance, Netflix’s Emilia Pérez, in which characters spontaneously burst into song, is clearly a musical (if not a comedy), and A24’s The Brutalist, in which an immigrant faces all sorts of harrowing hurdles, is clearly a drama.
—Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Oct. 2024
While his harrowing work saves hundreds of lives, the situation becomes increasingly dangerous, and the intelligence agency can no longer sanction his work.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 11 Oct. 2024
Director/Producer: Joe Wein A harrowing first-person account of Steven Callahan’s disastrous solo trip across the Atlantic Ocean, which left him stranded at sea for nearly 3 months.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for harrowing 
Adjective
What stands out to you about filming that harrowing scene?
—Alamin Yohannes, EW.com, 17 Oct. 2024
Some of this year’s cases are inarguable — for instance, Netflix’s Emilia Pérez, in which characters spontaneously burst into song, is clearly a musical (if not a comedy), and A24’s The Brutalist, in which an immigrant faces all sorts of harrowing hurdles, is clearly a drama.
—Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Oct. 2024
While his harrowing work saves hundreds of lives, the situation becomes increasingly dangerous, and the intelligence agency can no longer sanction his work.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 11 Oct. 2024
Director/Producer: Joe Wein A harrowing first-person account of Steven Callahan’s disastrous solo trip across the Atlantic Ocean, which left him stranded at sea for nearly 3 months.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for harrowing
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'harrowing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Harrowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harrowing. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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