harrowing
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- harrowingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of harrowing
Explanation
Being attacked by a hungry shark or being chased by an unruly mob on the streets can be described as harrowing, which means "provoking feelings of fear or horror." The adjective harrowing is often used to describe a firsthand experience that is terrifying, such as a harrowing drive home in icy weather, but it can also refer to a secondhand experience, such as reading or watching something that is very frightening or disturbing. If you read someone’s account of being shipwrecked in Antarctica, you might describe that as a harrowing story. A harrowing experience typically unfolds over a period of time. For example, if you bump into a shark while swimming, that’s merely scary. If the shark attacks you, then it becomes a harrowing ordeal.
Vocabulary lists containing harrowing
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Grade 9, List 5
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The Catcher in the Rye
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Recounting razor-sharp memories starting from childhood, Park’s book includes the harrowing story of his family’s immigration from Argentina to L.A. when he was 3.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
The one lodged by Cile Steward’s parents came in February, and makes for harrowing reading.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026
The TRRC, which heard harrowing testimony from victims, former security operatives and other witnesses, also called for reparations to be paid to the victims, warning that failure to act risked entrenching impunity.
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
Inspired by a novella by Soviet physicist Georgy Demidov, who chronicled his own harrowing experiences in the gulag from the late 1930s until the early 1950s, “Two Prosecutors” unfolds with ominous efficiency.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
Alas, Clare was forced to face the harrowing reality: Just as in his short, lonely life, he was unworthy of affection.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
