harrowing

adjective

har·​row·​ing ˈher-ə-wiŋ 

ˈha-rə-

: acutely distressing or painful

a harrowing experience

Mr. Wu's work in a coal mine was particularly harrowing.

—Charles Horner

harrowingly adverb

Synonyms of harrowing

• painful
• harsh
• cruel
• torturous

Examples of harrowing in a Sentence

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

One year after being abducted on-air, Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves looks back on surviving that harrowing incident. — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 6 July 2026

For some Lampedusans, the experience of pulling dead bodies out of the sea has left a harrowing mark. — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 6 July 2026

Released in theaters on May 15, Obsession follows the harrowing path of Bear (Johnston), a lovelorn music store employee who has a hopeless crush on his co-worker, Nikki (Navarrette). — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026

The police report details a harrowing scene where Bland instructed one of the children in the home to retrieve a knife, but the child claimed to not know why. — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of harrow entry 3

First Known Use

1799, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for harrowing

• narrowing