YOUR VOCABULARY, ONE WORD AT A TIME

harrowing

Adjective

IPA /ˈhærəʊɪŋ/

Understand it. Say it. Use it.

UNDERSTAND THE WORD

Meaning in plain English

Extremely upsetting or frightening to experience, watch or hear about.

SAY IT ALOUD

Pronunciation

harrowing/ˈhærəʊɪŋ/

PICTURE THE IDEA

See the meaning

Follow the idea

An account of a frightening ordeal
The reader feels deeply distressed

A harrowing account is intensely upsetting to hear or read.

SEE IT IN EVERYDAY ENGLISH

Examples in context

Read the examples aloud. Notice how the word fits the sentence, then think of a situation of your own.

The film gave a harrowing account of a family caught in a storm.
The students read a harrowing passage about the character's escape.

MAKE IT STICK

Quick word quiz

Try the question without looking back, then write a sentence of your own. You can retry as often as you like.

Can you recall the word?

Complete the example using the word from this lesson.

The film gave a ________ account of a family caught in a storm.

Show the answer

harrowing — Extremely upsetting or frightening to experience, watch or hear about.

Try your own sentence (optional)

Make it yours

Write one sentence using “harrowing” about your own life.

Your sentence (optional)

Check your sentence

Does your sentence match this meaning?

Extremely upsetting or frightening to experience, watch or hear about.

Compare: The film gave a harrowing account of a family caught in a storm.

Check the spelling and how the word fits the sentence. Your example can be different.

Self-review only. Your sentence is not automatically marked, saved or submitted.

This quiz is for practice. To save lesson completion on this device, complete the checks in the app.

Word origin

From the verb harrow, whose figurative sense developed from breaking up soil with a harrow.

Did you know?

Harrowing often describes an experience, account, ordeal or story.

Explore related words

Open a word’s lesson when available, or explore entries that use the related term.

Make the word your own

Say the word aloud and read an example sentence.
Write a new sentence about something familiar to you.
Cover the meaning and try explaining the word in your own words.

Continue with the app’s practice check, then try a sentence of your own to mark this word complete.

Practise this word in the app

Completion and saved words stay in this browser on this device.