jarring

adjective

jar·​ring ˈjär-iŋ 

: having a harshly concussive, disagreeable, or discordant effect

a jarring tackle

It is not hard to imagine how the wounded will fare in a long jarring ride over rough roads …

—William Baxter

After watching the British reports, I found the American ones jarring.

—Michael Massing

There is not a single jarring note from the minute you enter this turn-of-the-century palazzo, lovingly restored to its glory days …

—Kati Marton

jarringly adverb

jarringly harsh language

a jarringly hard hit

… an aroma that I found jarringly distracting …

—Randal Caparoso

The book is his angry, raunchy, opinionated, sometimes moving, jarringly frank autobiography …

—Brad Darrach

Synonyms of jarring

• surprising
• startling
• amazing
• shocking
• stunning

Examples of jarring in a Sentence

the jarring news that major financial institutions were on the verge of collapse

the final chord of that song is too jarring for me

Recent Examples on the Web

The onslaught during the pitch for enlisting in the Navy was particularly jarring. — Matt Minton, Variety, 22 July 2026

Toure was there to lay out a jarring, game-saving hit to force the incompletion. — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 16 July 2026

Hidden, almost, in the center of the exhibition are a few of Mendieta’s early paintings from the late 1960s and early 1970s, which have a jarring feeling of wrongness about them. — Eliza Goodpasture, ARTnews.com, 15 July 2026

The pacing is more frenetic, the narration more biting, the flashbacks more jarring, and the comedowns much harsher. — Hannah Giorgis Yohannes, Vanity Fair, 13 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1552, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for jarring

• barring
• charring
• marring
• scarring
• sparring
• starring
• tarring
• debarring