Harrowing

/ˈhæɹəʊ.ɪŋ/ · verb

Meaning

present participle and gerund of harrow..

Definitions by Sense

1. present participle and gerund of harrow.
2. (formal) Causing pain or distress; harrying.
3. The process of breaking up earth with a harrow.
4. Suffering, torment.
5. Ravaging; hostile incursion; spoliation; intentional widespread destruction.

Example Sentences

Harrowing journeys down the dark roads of anger, violence, and madness

Toward the end of the war, Benoit was sent off on his own with forged papers; he wound up working as a horse groom at a chalet in the Loire valley. Mandelbrot describes this harrowing youth with great sangfroid.

The field received two harrowings.

Scientists who complain about the helplessness of politicians might consider the desolation in England which followed the harrowing of the north by William the Conqueror or the state of the Palatinate long after the end of the Thirty Years War[.]

Synonyms for harrowing

Antonyms for harrowing

Related Words

Word Forms

• more harrowing
• most harrowing
• harrowings

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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