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
Track maintenance will then harrow the track to release the compactness and return it to its regular consistency for racing.
—Los Angeles Times, 28 Dec. 2021
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
Track maintenance will then harrow the track to release the compactness and return it to its regular consistency for racing.
—Los Angeles Times, 28 Dec. 2021
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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The last few projects have been plagued by delays and massive cost overruns.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
27 June 2025
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Pachuca’s failure plagued Salzburg as well, with the Austrian side needing a boost after things turned for the worse against Real Madrid, only to be denied – despite their social media admin’s best pleas.—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
27 June 2025
Verb
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To put it into perspective, the National Organization for Rare Disorders estimates that one person on every elevator and four people on every bus are afflicted.—
Alexis Kayser,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 June 2025
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Those afflicted with sickle cell disease and their families turned out in support of World Sickle Cell Day at West Oakland’s DeFremery Park on Sunday.—
Jane Tyska,
Mercury News,
25 June 2025
Verb
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With his penchant for menacing models, black-out contact lenses and jutting shoulders, Owens is also a forever torchbearer for different kinds of beauty, and a safe haven for people who feel persecuted for being outside the norm.—
Miles Socha,
Footwear News,
25 June 2025
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The regimes that persecute religious minorities are also the ones that oppress women, LGBTQ people, journalists, and dissidents.—
Nuri Kino,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 June 2025
Verb
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Nicolás Maduro and his enforcers are running a criminal narco-terrorist dictatorship that jails political opponents, tortures dissidents, and crushes any hope of free expression.—
Rachel Wolf,
FOXNews.com,
27 June 2025
-
An immigration judge determined that he would likely be persecuted or tortured if deported to Guatemala again, and granted him an order protecting him from removal.—
Solcyré Burga,
Time,
25 June 2025
Verb
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The supernatural thriller sees a woman return from death as a vindictive spirit to torment her adulterous husband.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
26 June 2025
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Yet, as the story progresses, her backstory is fleshed out fully, revealing a woman still deeply tormented by a childhood incident.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
19 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Harrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harrow. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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