harrowing
English · Thesaurus
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harrowing
- /ˈhæɹəʊ.ɪŋ/ UK
Where it comes from
By surface analysis, harrow + -ing.
verb
- present participle and gerund of harrow
adjective more harrowing · most harrowing
- Causing pain or distress; harrying. Harrowing journeys down the dark roads of anger, violence, and madness
noun harrowings
- The process of breaking up earth with a harrow. The field received two harrowings.
- Suffering, torment.
- Ravaging; hostile incursion; spoliation; intentional widespread destruction. 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[.]
- Christ's ravaging or hostile incursion of Hell, conducted between his crucifixion and resurrection, in which he liberated the souls of the righteous held captive by Satan. As in other myths, like Christ's harrowing of hell, the initiate descends into the netherworld for the magical three days.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: agonizing, excruciating, painful, torturing, torturesome, torturous, distressing, desperate, heartbreaking, heart-rending, upsetting, disturbing, stressful, harsh, horrifying, terrifying
Translations
Every language
adj causing pain or distress
| Español | angustioso, desgarrador |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 使人痛苦的 shǐ rén tòngkǔ de, 慘痛的 /惨痛的 cǎntòng de |
| Português | perturbador, dilacerante |
| Français | navrant, éprouvant |
| Deutsch | erschütternd, grauenhaft, grauenvoll, quälend |
| Italiano | straziante |
| Русский | го́рестный górestnyj, душераздира́ющий dušerazdirájuščij, мучи́тельный mučítelʹnyj |
| עברית | מענה, מְיַסֵּר m'yasér |
noun the process of breaking up earth with a harrow
| Español | escarificación |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Eggen |
| Italiano | erpicatura |
| Русский | боронова́ние boronovánije, бороне́ние boronénije, рыхле́ние ryxlénije, культива́ция kulʹtivácija |
Talk about this word "harrowing." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/harrowing. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. harrowing. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/harrowing "harrowing." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/harrowing.Cite this
@misc{harrowing_2026,
title = {harrowing},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/harrowing},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
