harrowing

1 hard to accept or bear especially emotionally a harrowing portrayal of the ravages of war Synonyms afflicting, agonizing, cruel, excruciating, galling, grievous, bitter, harsh, heartrending, hurtful, painful, tormenting, torturousRelated Words insufferable, insupportable, intolerable, unacceptable, unbearable, unendurable, unsupportable; appalling, awful, bad, dire, dreadful, ghastly, horrible, miserable, nasty, rotten, severe, terrible, vile, wretched; acute, extreme, intense, piercingNear Antonyms bearable, endurable, supportable, sustainable, tolerable; livable (also liveable), sufferable, survivable; acceptable, allowable, reasonableAntonyms gratifying, pleasing, sweet

2 intensely or unbearably painful the harrowing amputations without any anesthetic that soldiers and sailors once were forced to endure Synonyms agonizing, excruciating, racking, raging, tormenting, torturing, torturous, wrenchingRelated Words acute, exquisite, extreme, fierce, intense, vehement, violent; biting, cutting, penetrating, piercing, sharp, shooting, smarting, stabbing, stinging, tearing, tingling