How to Use harrowing in a Sentence

harrowing

adjective
Definition of harrowingnext
Synonyms for harrowingnext
  • By turns serene and harrowing, the West here brims with life.
    — Angelica Aboulhosn, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Aug. 2023
  • Many harrowing accounts have emerged in the days since the attack.
    — Michael Schwirtz, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2024
  • In a harrowing 911 call, his wife can be heard begging for help.
    — Rebecca Rosenberg, Fox News, 5 Aug. 2023
  • Tran told a harrowing tale of her immigration to the U.S. in 1986.
    — Judy Bart Kancigor, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024
  • We are left with Auschwitz’s harrowing legacy and reminded of the full extent of the crimes of Nazism.
    — Armani Syed, TIME, 12 Jan. 2024
  • The North Riverside mall was the site of a harrowing point-blank fatal shooting that occurred in late May 2020.
    — Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 19 Apr. 2023
  • The story behind the wound was even more harrowing in real life.
    — Danielle Bacher, Peoplemag, 25 Sep. 2023
  • But for others the journey to safety has been much more harrowing.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2024
  • As such, the film depicts the harrowing truths of the way that caste systems are upheld, from slavery to lynching to genocide.
    — Angelique Jackson, Variety, 7 Sep. 2023
  • The Vibe: Still fairly harrowing, but also now quite vibey.
    — Katie Bain, Billboard, 27 Mar. 2023
  • The lush, harrowing melodies almost leave listeners in a trance.
    — Shahamat Uddin, Vogue, 12 June 2023
  • Both sides pressed tens of thousands of African migrant laborers to do the harrowing work of mining.
    — Gillian Brockell, BostonGlobe.com, 5 May 2023
  • Both pressed tens of thousands of African migrant laborers to do the harrowing work of mining.
    — Gillian Brockell, Washington Post, 5 May 2023
  • Ukrainians have, in the course of 18 fearful, defiant, harrowing months, grown used to the idea that things might change at a moment’s notice.
    — Rory Smith, New York Times, 7 July 2023
  • For those seeking an alpine experience, take the long harrowing dirt road up to Deer Park.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 27 July 2023
  • The man raced off afterward, the kind of exit that would normally signal the end of a harrowing ordeal.
    — Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 2 Aug. 2023
  • This has been a globally harrowing moment that has been nearly 80 years in the making.
    — Tayler Adigun, Essence, 4 Dec. 2023
  • At the most harrowing of times, some Israeli citizens living overseas aren’t running from the war at home, but to it.
    — Jocelyn Noveck, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2023
  • Those in Kula also shared harrowing stories of trying to save themselves and their homes as flames raced over fields and down the gulch toward them.
    — Brianna Sacks, Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2023
  • In one harrowing moment, CCTV video shows a father and two boys running out of their home and into what appears to be a small shelter.
    — Raf Sanchez, NBC News, 25 Oct. 2023
  • The sound of cattle bawling for days after their calves were driven to the sale barn suddenly took on a harrowing timbre.
    — Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 12 Oct. 2023
  • The region’s commutes range from easy jaunts to harrowing long hauls, their effects felt in different ways.
    — Michael Laris, Washington Post, 22 Sep. 2023
  • Needless to say, the harrowing footage captured on a cell phone camera quickly goes viral.
    — Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Nov. 2023
  • But what was normally a ten-minute drive became a harrowing ordeal on foot.
    — Andrew Leland, The New Yorker, 8 July 2023
  • After a month-long odyssey through Afghanistan, a number of false starts, and some harrowing near-misses, the girls were finally put on a flight to Portugal.
    — Marie Margolius, Time, 24 Aug. 2023
  • My story isn’t nearly as harrowing as that of Cassidy Phillips (pictured at the onset of this story).
    — Todd Boss, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
  • Survivors of a boat that capsized in a cave in Lockport, New York, are recalling the harrowing moments when the vessel overturned.
    — Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 13 June 2023
  • Not to say what Winslet recounts isn’t compelling: becoming a famous woman in the ’90s era of waif-like chic was nothing short of harrowing.
    — Longreads, 8 Mar. 2024
  • The harrowing scene played out on a New York City subway car during Thursday-evening rush hour and was captured in videos that have been shared widely online.
    — Jeff Winter, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024
  • The trial featured testimony from the people who escaped the mayhem and harrowing audio of a 911 call from one of the victims.
    — Sabrina Souza, CNN, 2 Aug. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'harrowing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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