1
as in painful
hard to accept or bear especially emotionally
a harrowing portrayal of the ravages of war
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in wrenching
intensely or unbearably painful
the harrowing amputations without any anesthetic that soldiers and sailors once were forced to endure
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in plaguing
to cause persistent suffering to
the villagers were gaunt and sickly, harrowed by years of disease and starvation
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of harrowing
Jessica Mekles, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
In a video posted to X on Thursday night, state police shared a harrowing video of the driver nearly colliding with the wrong-way driver.
—Chilekasi Adele, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Throughout these harrowing days, Yitzhak poured his heart into his diary, describing the confusion, the terror, the streets filled with armed soldiers hunting for victims.
—Dr. Michael Good, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2026
Doctors nationally are describing harrowing consequences for patients who delayed seeking care or skipped it altogether, including a child who suffered a ruptured eardrum and a patient with a burst appendix.
—Daniel Payne, STAT, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for harrowing
Adjective
Vying for a parking spot on a crowded city street after a snowstorm has long felt like going to battle, and now there's a harrowing twist.
—Jessica Mekles, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
In a video posted to X on Thursday night, state police shared a harrowing video of the driver nearly colliding with the wrong-way driver.
—Chilekasi Adele, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Throughout these harrowing days, Yitzhak poured his heart into his diary, describing the confusion, the terror, the streets filled with armed soldiers hunting for victims.
—Dr. Michael Good, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2026
Doctors nationally are describing harrowing consequences for patients who delayed seeking care or skipped it altogether, including a child who suffered a ruptured eardrum and a patient with a burst appendix.
—Daniel Payne, STAT, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for harrowing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harrowing
Adjective
-
Four years later, at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, Gabrielle Daleman could only bury her face in her hands after the Canadian’s disappointing free skate, her painful reaction beamed to a global audience.—
Dave Skretta,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Feb. 2026
-
As painful as this pain deep in the heart is, the healing has already begun with all the outpouring of love, prayers, and support.—
Alejandra Gularte,
Vulture,
15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Vietnam was inextricably linked to a wrenching era in American history, as Blacks were being compelled to fight a war on two fronts—for equality at home and a nation’s hubris abroad.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Feb. 2026
-
What's going on is absolutely heart-wrenching.—
Kiki Intarasuwan,
CBS News,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Even cursory nods to the pandemic as the root cause of neighbors turning against neighbors aren’t explored so much as they’re acknowledged, as if viewers are somehow unaware of the polarization plaguing America.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
13 Feb. 2026
-
The House passed a bipartisan housing bill that would enact new policies to boost housing supply and ease the affordability crisis plaguing the nation.—
Zach Halaschak,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Prosecutors say the defendant failed to take into account his girlfriend’s inexperience in mountain climbing as well as the harsh winter conditions.—
Sophie Tanno,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Bathroom Fixtures There are no harsh or abrasive chemicals involved in steam cleaning bathroom fixtures.—
Rae Ford,
Martha Stewart,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
These individually wrapped peanut butter and oat bites are a suitable lunch box treat, or fuel for people who take long bike rides and other torturous endurance sports.—
Alex Beggs,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
7 Feb. 2026
-
The many comparisons the researchers tested show a torturous pathway to a significant finding.—
Eleanor M. Perfetto,
STAT,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
But the overlap with unusually frigid temperatures afflicting Florida's Space Coast and the rest of the country have turned Crew-12's launch opportunities into an intricate dance around Artemis 2.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Their bread-and-butter is comforting the most comfortable by afflicting the most afflicted.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Said quest forces her to reexamine a revelatory affair with an RAF pilot, and consider how their engagement’s cruel ending set her on the path to a different sort of fulfillment.—
Hayley Maitland,
Vogue,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Government should tame the savageness of man and make life in this world more gentle, not crueler.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The world watched as the heavy favorite to triumph at the Milan Cortina Games sat through several agonizing minutes of dejection.—
Dave Skretta,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Feb. 2026
-
For the Iranian diaspora, this has meant an agonizing wait for news from family members, with many left feeling helpless in the face of such unthinkable atrocities.—
Emily Chan,
Vogue,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harrowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harrowing. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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