harrowed

verb

past tense of harrow
as in plagued
to cause persistent suffering to the villagers were gaunt and sickly, harrowed by years of disease and starvation

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for harrowed
  1. plagued
  2. afflicted
  3. persecuted
  4. tortured
  5. tormented
Verb
  • Speculation and conspiracy theories have plagued Kirk’s death, fueled even by public figures such as Candace Owens, a longtime friend of Kirk, who has been outspoken about her belief that his death was orchestrated in an elaborate plot.
    — Mackenzie Chase, The Washington Examiner, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Hoover’s replacement has thus far been a miss, and the problem that plagued this program in losses in each of the last two years has not changed.
    — Mac Engel October 14, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of plagued
Verb
  • Love contains the seeds of its own destruction—the cruelty and self-absorption that turns the afflicted against one another, and themselves.
    — Merve Emre, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026
  • While the epicenter was located in Nantou County in central Taiwan, serious damage afflicted residents across the island as roads buckled, bridges collapsed and landslides destroyed everything in their path.
    — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of afflicted
Verb
  • Those governments provide assurances that people won’t be persecuted or tortured, federal attorneys said.
    — Lindsay Whitehurst, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Also, some immigration cases involve people seeking asylum because they are being persecuted by a foreign government and releasing a person’s full name could be considered sensitive or even dangerous.
    — Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of persecuted
Verb
  • Hundreds of thousands of women were tried, tortured, and executed for witchcraft in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
  • According to Bilal and his brother Judy, neither Ahmed nor anyone else in his family had ever been arrested or tortured by the regime.
    — Ben Taub, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of tortured
Verb
  • The other was a decent man constantly being tormented by God in order to test his faith.
    — Chuck Lorre, Vanity Fair, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The Eagles, of course, have tormented the league with that play.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of tormented
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

harrow
harrowed
harrowing
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Cite this Entry

“Harrowed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harrowed. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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