harrowing

adjective/ˈhæroʊɪŋ/

Frequency rank: #12,132 of 20,003 in the WORDED list (wordfreq data)

Meaning

intensely distressing or disturbing; causing great suffering or anguish

Illustration for the English word “harrowing”

Example sentence

The survivors described their harrowing escape from the burning building.

Synonyms & related words

More words in ranks 12,101–12,200