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

• amazing
• astonishing
• astounding
• blindsiding
• dumbfounding
• dumfounding
• eye-opening
• flabbergasting
• jaw-dropping
• jolting
• shocking
• startling
• stunning
• stupefying
• surprising

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

This jarring image pushes audiences to imagine and inhabit a different kind of reality. —Sara Merican, Deadline, 17 May 2025

Her first trip into a war zone is jarring, but provides scant insight. —Dennis Harvey, Variety, 16 May 2025

Air safety has entered the fore after a series of jarring incidents. —Joe Walsh, CBS News, 15 May 2025

The alert sound when dispensing is super jarring, and my pets were scared of it—there was no way to silence it. —Molly Higgins, Wired News, 12 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1552, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for jarring

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