Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Extremely distressing; agonizing.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Heart-rending; excruciating; distressful; tragic: as, the harrowing details of a murder.
  • noun Same as harrying.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb Present participle of harrow.
  • adjective Causing pain or distress.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective extremely painful

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The stories that follow recall in harrowing detail some very specific moments that will live in infamy.

    Scene-Stealers readers respond with scary drunk stories! » Scene-Stealers 2009

  • The batteries in the gameboy thing was so convoluted -- I'm playing with my daughter's gameboy (why??) but it's out of batteries (huh?) but I have some extra in my car (who does that??) so can you come help me put them in (how harrowing is replacing batteries? even a dumb kid would wonder why an adult with functioning hands would need help for this).

    Perfect strangers 2009

  • A future presidential candidate might have participated in harrowing door-to-door sweeps during the bloody fight for Fallujah last month.

    December 2004 2004

  • A future presidential candidate might have participated in harrowing door-to-door sweeps during the bloody fight for Fallujah last month.

    The John Kerry of the Future 2004

  • Both the semi-autobiographical Denisovich and the non-ficiton Archipelago described Gulag life in harrowing detail, and forced the West to finally acknowledge the grave human rights abuses perpetrated inside Stalin’s brutal work camps, which at their peak housed more than two million prisoners.

    Russian Gulags: Then and Now | Disinformation 2008

  • Halle Shilling, who was attacked in the park two weeks after Levy disappeared, is to testify today, Haines said, and will recall her harrowing attack.

    Open statements begin in Chandra Levy trial Henri Cauvin 2010

  • Sinbad, along with singer Sheryl Crow, was on that 1996 trip to Bosnia that Clinton has described as a harrowing international experience that makes her tested and ready to answer a 3 a.m. phone call at the White House on day one, a claim for which she's taking much grief on the campaign trail.

    Not So Fast, Says Sinbad - Real Clear Politics – TIME.com 2008

  • Sinbad, along with singer Sheryl Crow, was on that 1996 trip to Bosnia that Clinton has described as a harrowing international experience that makes her tested and ready to answer a 3 a.m. phone call at the White House on day one, a claim for which she's taking much grief on the campaign trail.

    Archive 2008-03-01 2008

  • Sinbad, along with singer Sheryl Crow, was on that 1996 trip to Bosnia that Clinton has described as a harrowing international experience that makes her tested and ready to answer a 3 a.m. phone call at the White House on day one, a claim for which she's taking much grief on the campaign trail.

    Hillary Camp Responds: Sorry, Obama Still Isn't Ready To Take 3 A.M. Call 2009

  • Sinbad, along with singer Sheryl Crow, was on that 1996 trip to Bosnia that Clinton has described as a harrowing international experience that makes her tested and ready to answer a 3 a.m. phone call at the White House on day one, a claim for which she's taking much grief on the campaign trail.

    This is the best of all possible Campaigns.... 2008

Comments

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  • An adjective applied nine times out of ten to ordeals. Scarcely seen as a gerund.

    November 29, 2007

  • See also the harrowing of hell.

    November 30, 2007

  • It must have been painful. ;-)

    November 30, 2007