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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for harrowed
  1. plagued
  2. afflicted
  3. persecuted
  4. tortured
  5. tormented
Verb
  • Fashion’s relationship with art is a conundrum that’s plagued the minds of some of its greatest auteurs.
    — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Taking the Long Way was never going to be country enough for some, but that was something the Chicks were always plagued with, even in their early busking days on the streets of Dallas.
    — Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of plagued
Verb
  • 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
  • Here’s my Sunday postgame piece on a miserable condition that has afflicted Dolphins fans for years, and our plea to Jon-Eric Sullivan to fix it.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 20 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
  • Sarsour denies committing those crimes and his attorneys say he was tortured and coerced into confessing in both instances.
    — Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
  • To succeed, the Sparrows would need to sell the story, even if tortured.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of tortured
Verb
  • The Eagles, of course, have tormented the league with that play.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The series follows a group of Los Angeles teenagers in the 1980s who are being tormented by a serial killer known as the Trawler.
    — Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 18 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
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Harrowed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harrowed. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of regimen

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All