as in to plague
to cause persistent suffering to
the villagers were gaunt and sickly, harrowed by years of disease and starvation
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Recent Examples of harrow
Before the big race, the track was harrowed, bringing it to a better and drier racing surface.
—
John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2025
The research fellow who met me, Birte, was in her forties, and appeared as if she had been harrowed by her work.
—John Ganz, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
Plus, Shin Ha-young is given little to do in the second half of the series despite her effortless shift from warm third wheel to harrowed and weary abuse victim.
—Geoffrey Bunting, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2023
That same humble deity, in the course of putting on humanity, had obtained a glimpse of the conditions on earth—poverty, needless estrangement, a stubborn pattern of rich ruling over poor—and decided to incite a revolution that would harrow Hell.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 28 Dec. 2020
John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2025
The research fellow who met me, Birte, was in her forties, and appeared as if she had been harrowed by her work.
—John Ganz, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
Plus, Shin Ha-young is given little to do in the second half of the series despite her effortless shift from warm third wheel to harrowed and weary abuse victim.
—Geoffrey Bunting, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2023
That same humble deity, in the course of putting on humanity, had obtained a glimpse of the conditions on earth—poverty, needless estrangement, a stubborn pattern of rich ruling over poor—and decided to incite a revolution that would harrow Hell.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 28 Dec. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harrow
Verb
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And on the subject of filtering, or the lack thereof, Google has confirmed that a widespread issue this weekend is plaguing inboxes with spam — or worse.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
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Remaking his body to avoid the health issues that plagued his first two seasons, resulting in two years with a clean bill of health.—
Adam Grosbard,
Oc Register,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Given the housing shortage that’s afflicted the whole country, the state, in 2024, revised the Postcard Law to allow for more construction, at least in certain areas.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
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Wildfires afflict central and southern Chile every summer, typically reaching a peak in February as temperatures surge and the country continues to reel from a years-long drought.—
Javier Torres,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Open Doors is a global Christian charity supporting Christians persecuted for their faith.—
Paul Tilsley,
FOXNews.com,
28 Dec. 2025
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Most commonly, people felt they were being persecuted via their electronics – that their Wi-Fi networks, computers or cellphones had been hacked or implanted with tracking devices.—
Alaina Vandervoort Burns,
The Conversation,
17 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Still, whatever validity there is to his pain, Peter becomes a high priest of hallucination and Coon’s tortured Agnes his disciple.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
9 Jan. 2026
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In Chechnya, a region in southern Russia with a predominantly Muslim population, authorities launched an open hunt for gay men—police rounded them up and tortured many of them, with some being killed.—
Mikhail Zygar,
Vanity Fair,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Not because the full-court press tormented the Longhorns — Texas (11-7, 2-3 SEC) only turned the ball over eight times.—
David Eckert,
Austin American Statesman,
17 Jan. 2026
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Doubt pushes him to consult former inmates, all of whom were tormented by the same character, and differ on what to do with him.—
Thomas Page,
CNN Money,
16 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harrow. Accessed 25 Jan. 2026.
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