harrowing

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adjective

extremely disturbing or distressing; grievous: a harrowing experience.

Origin:
1800–10; harrow¹ + -ing²

Related forms

har·row·ing·ly, adverb.

Synonyms
painful, agonizing, tormenting, heartbreaking.

Relevant Questions

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Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

an agricultural implement with spikelike teeth or upright disks, drawn chiefly over plowed land to level it, break up clods, root up weeds, etc.

verb (used with object)

to draw a harrow over (land).

to disturb keenly or painfully; distress the mind, feelings, etc., of.

verb (used without object)

to become broken up by harrowing, as soil.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English harwe; akin to Old Norse herfi harrow, Dutch hark rake, Greek krṓpion sickle

Related forms

har·row·er, noun.

verb (used with object), Archaic.

to ravish; violate; despoil.

harry ( def 2 ).

(of Christ) to descend into (hell) to free the righteous held captive.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English harwen, herwen, Old English hergian to harry

Related forms

har·row·ment, noun.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To harrowing

Collins

World English Dictionary

harrow¹ (ˈhærəʊ)

—n
1.	any of various implements used to level the ground, stir the soil, break up clods, destroy weeds, etc, in soil

—vb
2.	(tr) to draw a harrow over (land)
3.	(intr) (of soil) to become broken up through harrowing
4.	(tr) to distress; vex

[C13: of Scandinavian origin; compare Danish harv, Swedish harf; related to Middle Dutch harke rake]

'harrower¹

—n

'harrowing¹

—*adj*, —n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

harrowing

"extremely distressing, painful," 1810, from harrow (q.v.).

Example sentences

Witness these and other harrowing true-life human encounters with nature's

silent killers.

After such a harrowing scene it was too disconcerting and distracting to have

to relocate back to the office for a page.

Afterwards, he declared the experience as harrowing and exhilarating as driving

in a stock car race.

The book opens with a harrowing and knowing story about a couple splitting up.

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