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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The Tigers have been plagued by poor starting pitching, a thin bullpen and an offense that hasn’t played with the same spark since the All-Star break.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Aligning With San Francisco’s Health Care Security Ordinance San Francisco’s Health Care Security Ordinance was designed to expand access, but the system has long been plagued by complexity.—
Chelsea Davis,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Those who dismissed intersectionality saw such policies as little more than allowing the disadvantaged to commit crimes without consequences to make up for past inequities, afflicting crime victims from the same disadvantaged communities.—
John Scott Lewinski,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
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Griffin, who does clinical work in Long Island, New York, said his sister-in-law is in her 40s and quite wary of long COVID, the enduring, debilitating health issues that have afflicted millions of Americans who contracted the coronavirus.—
Jorge L. Ortiz,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The safest course would be to force out the Americans, persecute the Sunnis, and then let the Shiite factions bicker forever.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
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His deportation to El Salvador violated a 2019 court order that protected him from being deported to his home country because of concerns that he’d be persecuted by violent gangs.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Emily Brontë appears in every way indifferent to the need for love and companionship that tortured the lives of her sisters.—
Emily Temple
September 5,
Literary Hub,
5 Sep. 2025
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Jamie Simpson of Covington was sentenced in March to 60 years in prison for holding his wife captive and torturing her for hours before barricading himself inside her home in a lengthy standoff with police.—
Quinlan Bentley,
The Enquirer,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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He’s tormented and has his own personal issues.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Sep. 2025
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In Annabelle’s defense, her laziness is in line with the rest of the film franchise, which almost always involves demons using preexisting hauntings to torment families.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Harrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harrow. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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