harrowing

1 of 2

adjective

har·​row·​ing ˈher-ə-wiŋ How to pronounce harrowing (audio)
ˈha-rə-
Synonyms of harrowing
: acutely distressing or painful
a harrowing experience
Mr. Wu's work in a coal mine was particularly harrowing.—Charles Horner
harrowingly adverb

harrowing

2 of 2

present participle of harrow entry 1, harrow entry 3

Synonyms of harrowing

Relevance

Adjective

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of harrowing in a Sentence

Adjective a harrowing portrayal of the ravages of war the harrowing amputations without any anesthetic that soldiers and sailors once were forced to endure
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
The harrowing memories later influenced his work and activity with an anti-war theme. — ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026 Over 70 women came forward to investigators, reporting harrowing accounts of the brothers’ attacks, prosecutors said in their sentencing memo. — Kara Scannell, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2026 But there’s a hopeful note buried under the harrowing descriptions. — Shy Clara Thompson, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2026 In an emotional and harrowing interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting published on Friday, Giamanco recalled that fateful day. — David K. Li, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for harrowing

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

from present participle of harrow entry 3

First Known Use

Adjective

1799, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of harrowing was in 1799

Rhymes for harrowing

See All Rhymes for harrowing

Browse Nearby Words

harrower
harrowing
harrow-plow
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Harrowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/harrowing. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of shindig

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All