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 Sentences
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Recent Examples of harrowing
Erik Kobayashi-Solomon, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
His role, as a flawed genius who suffers for his art but is undone by his hubris, his drug addiction and the cutoff of his wealthy employer’s patronage, is harrowing.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Dec. 2024
Before the verdict, Yak Gotti faced a harrowing situation while incarcerated in Fulton County Jail.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 4 Dec. 2024
Beginning in 2020, Amy Grant has endured a harrowing list of health issues, including open-heart surgery, a brain injury, throat surgery and shoulder surgery.
—Nancy Kruh, People.com, 27 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for harrowing 
Adjective
The company announced several years of delays in constructing its first large-scale commercial plant, leading to a gut-wrenching fall in share price over just a few harrowing trading sessions.
—Erik Kobayashi-Solomon, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
His role, as a flawed genius who suffers for his art but is undone by his hubris, his drug addiction and the cutoff of his wealthy employer’s patronage, is harrowing.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Dec. 2024
Before the verdict, Yak Gotti faced a harrowing situation while incarcerated in Fulton County Jail.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 4 Dec. 2024
Beginning in 2020, Amy Grant has endured a harrowing list of health issues, including open-heart surgery, a brain injury, throat surgery and shoulder surgery.
—Nancy Kruh, People.com, 27 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for harrowing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harrowing
Adjective
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Survivor: Thailand The fake merge and brutal last challenge — where the final three had to hold coins between their fingers in a crazy painful pose — keep this dud out of the bottom spot.Dalton Ross, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2024
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Being apart from them was a painful sacrifice, but the promise of Canadian residency for her and eventually her children seemed worth it.Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The corps’ push for additional benefits coincided with a harsh realization for the British Army: For white men, service in the West Indies was viewed as a death sentence due to the high risk of disease.Kinsey Gidick, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Dec. 2024
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With his latest project, he’s found a balance between the harsher realities of the real world, and his own playful spirit.Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The two halves of this character combine in a captivating performance for which Goggins was happy to endure a torturous prosthetic.Ryan Fleming, Deadline, 13 June 2024
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According to the political scientist Pierre Englebert, the Congolese government and people lose as much as $4 billion in revenue every year due to state agents’ manipulation of mining contracts and payments, torturous budget practices, and outright theft.Stephen R. Weissman, Foreign Affairs, 8 June 2015
Verb
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Maylia and Jack are both kids, two of the untold number of minors caught up in one side or the other of the burgeoning fentanyl trade afflicting the US.Longreads, Longreads, 4 Oct. 2024
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Whatever's afflicting you out there, in here the coffee is always hot, the fries are always crispy and the ranch dip is always free.Tyler Buchanan, Axios, 18 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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The gods prove cruel but not omnipotent, and the modern settings exert their own redemptive pull; the final effect is that of a magic trick, in which the characters manage, in each film’s miraculous closing moments, to slip the bonds of tragedy.Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2024
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By the time Lovely Runner’s series finale dropped in late May, millions of K-drama fans around the world had become invested in the story of Sol and Sun-jae, desperate to find out if their love could withstand the cruel vagaries of fate.Kayti Burt, TIME, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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But even in the worst cases of lupus, the decline—though agonizing—is much slower.ByJennifer Couzin-Frankel, science.org, 14 Nov. 2024
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For people who were close to Cliff Lambert, the still-unresolved legal saga surrounding his brutal killing more than a decade ago has been agonizing.Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 4 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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This has been an excruciating season for the Browns, their coach, and especially for Winston, the backup quarterback to starter Deshaun Watson, who has missed most of the season with a torn Achilles tendon.Jim Ingraham, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
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Michael Aylwin’s second-person account of caring for his wife, Vanessa, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at age 49, confronts the disease’s excruciating toll on the patient, their primary carer, and their family while exposing well-meaning yet woefully inadequate government and community support.Krista Stevens, Longreads, 9 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Media coverage of Walker’s messy private life has been intense.Oliver Kay, The Athletic, 20 Dec. 2024
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Other times, the work requires more intense intervention.Hannah Wiley, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near harrowing
Cite this Entry
“Harrowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harrowing. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
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