1
as in painful
hard to accept or bear especially emotionally
a harrowing portrayal of the ravages of war
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in wrenching
intensely or unbearably painful
the harrowing amputations without any anesthetic that soldiers and sailors once were forced to endure
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of harrowing
Simon De Burton, Robb Report, 1 Apr. 2026
Woods' most harrowing car crash came in February 2021.
—Megan Armstrong, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
Back in 2020, 12 years into Wood's run as the daughter of super-couple Ridge Forrester and Taylor Hayes, and as the granddaughter of Bold and the Beautiful icon Stephanie Forrester (Susan Flannery), Wood embarked on one of the most harrowing storylines of her soap career.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Mar. 2026
After hearing her sister's harrowing story, Boehler promised to help.
—Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for harrowing
Adjective
Rodger had been a war correspondent for LIFE magazine during World War II and captured many remarkable and harrowing images before going on to cofound the legendary Magnum photo agency along with Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and David Seymour.
—Simon De Burton, Robb Report, 1 Apr. 2026
Woods' most harrowing car crash came in February 2021.
—Megan Armstrong, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
Back in 2020, 12 years into Wood's run as the daughter of super-couple Ridge Forrester and Taylor Hayes, and as the granddaughter of Bold and the Beautiful icon Stephanie Forrester (Susan Flannery), Wood embarked on one of the most harrowing storylines of her soap career.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Mar. 2026
After hearing her sister's harrowing story, Boehler promised to help.
—Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for harrowing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harrowing
Adjective
-
My ila facial was pure joy—no painful extraction or aggravating scrubs here.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Both seasons were painfully funny (often just painful), but the humor sometimes got lost as time has proven even its most over-the-top bits eerily correct.—
Jennifer Silverman,
Rolling Stone,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Another wrenching question, of course, is whether at least the younger Perez siblings would want or need to go with Olga to Guatemala if she were deported.—
Tim Padgett,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Mar. 2026
-
These four novels create a convincing, wrenching, kaleidoscopic picture of the range and repetitions of the most fatal kind of love; the sort of love that allows nothing else to grow around it, that eradicates all dignity; a love which, in order to be completed, must be told.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
By the middle of the summer, YLO should be prepared to work out a more systematic offensive against the injustices plaguing the Latin colony.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Another reality plaguing the AI industry is the extremely high cost of energy in Europe.—
Francesca Cassidy,
Fortune,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
His team, which includes his advisor Atsushi Shirane and Masaya Miyahara of Japan’s High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), is aiming to develop a wireless system for controlling robots in this harsh environment.—
Katherine Bourzac,
IEEE Spectrum,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Items that are wind-resistant and waterproof will be good for use in many harsh weather conditions in which the user would need protection.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The timing of the interview—just a few days before Holy Week, when Christians like Nancy and Savannah Guthrie, year after year, stage a harrowing reënactment of an unjust, torturous death—wasn’t lost on anyone.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
1 Apr. 2026
-
While folks all across the nation are grappling with torturous TSA lines, Joe Jonas actually had fun at the airport on Saturday.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
For Yuldosheva and her neighbors, finding their landlord is one of many problems afflicting their six-story building near Yankee Stadium.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
-
When Pharaoh refused, God sent the 10 plagues to Egypt as punishment, destroying crops and livestock and afflicting the people, according to the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.—
Lucia Cheng,
Des Moines Register,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Its tulle is brittle and sharp, brushing against my fur like a thousand tiny teeth, a cruel lover that bites with every move.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Because here’s the last, and cruelest, kicker.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In an agonizing twist, just as the show had gotten underway, Eden received word she had been accepted by a professional ballet company.—
Scot Paltrow,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Either way, at least the agonizing holding pattern would be over.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
21 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harrowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harrowing. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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