jarring

American  

[jahr-ing] / ˈdʒɑr ɪŋ /

adjective

1. having a harshly unpleasant or disturbing effect on one’s nerves, feelings, thoughts, etc..

   The news of my cancer diagnosis was both jarring and devastating.

2. (of sounds) producing a harshly unpleasant effect; discordant.

   I’d much rather wake up to a gentle vibration than to the jarring sound of my phone alarm.

3. conflicting, clashing, or disagreeing.

   There is a jarring contrast between the trees and open space of the peaceful park and its hostile border of gray concrete warehouses and parking garages.

4. vibrating or shaking; characterized by sudden, jerky movements.

   There was enough rock on that trail to make for a jarring ride on a bike with narrow wheels and no suspension.

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noun

1. the act, state, or effect of clashing or conflicting.

   Paradoxically, the jarring of an encounter with the arts in the middle of outdoor urban space creates a connection between them.

2. the act of shaking or the state of being shaken; sudden, jerky movement.

   The seats had no padding and I felt bruises forming from the jarring of the truck.

3. the act of disturbing a person by harsh, discordant sound or by something unsettling, unexpected, or unpleasant.

   For UK readers, using the British text edition makes for a comfortable read without the jarring of unfamiliar spelling or phrasing.

Other Word Forms

• jarringly adverb
• unjarring adjective

Etymology

Origin of jarring

First recorded in 1550–60; jar ² ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; jar ² ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun senses

Example Sentences

At the training event in Echo Park, organizers said the recent events in Minnesota are jarring and forcing them to reconsider the safety of activists who protest or document immigration raids.

From Los Angeles Times

“I think that was too jarring a shift in the grocery-shopping experience that consumers are accustomed to, and they didn’t buy it, so to speak,” he said.

From MarketWatch

He describes the last of these with gentle clarity as “a lot like the jarring, jangling wrongness of the wrongly hit baseball.”

From The Wall Street Journal

“I’m still piecing together what happened. …The whole thing was so jarring, I was just trying to get away.”

From Los Angeles Times

As someone’s first introduction to Robyn, that carefree, assertive approach may be jarring.

From Salon

Related Words

• bumpy
• crushing
• disconcerting
• unsettling