Harrowing is the process or experience of causing intense distress, anxiety, or fear; something deeply disturbing or traumatic. It can describe events, images, or scenes that provoke strong emotional upheaval. The term often conveys a sense of relentless or striking adversity that lingers in memory or imagination.
"The documentary contained harrowing scenes of the disaster that left viewers shaken."
"Her harrowing ride through the stormfront tested every nerve she had."
"The survivor recounted a harrowing battle with illness, full of pain and fear."
"The rescue mission was harrowing, with peril at every turn yet eventual relief."
Harrowing traces to the noun harrow, itself from Old English herarian, related to harvesting or ploughing fields with a harrow. The verb harrow meant to plough up the ground, to distress or torment, metaphorically; by the 16th century, the sense shifted to psychological distress, probably via agricultural imagery of disturbing the soil. The modern adjective harrowing emerged in the 19th century to describe experiences that disturb or torment the mind as thoroughly as a physical harrow disturbs earth. The word’s evolution reflects a metaphor: deep, unsettling upheaval that
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Words that rhyme with "Harrowing"
-ing sounds
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Pronounce it as HAR-oh-ing. Primary stress on the first syllable: /ˈhær.oʊ.ɪŋ/ (US) or /ˈhar.əʊ.ɪŋ/ (UK). Keep the /r/ as a smooth rhotic liquid in both accents. The second syllable features a mid-to-close vowel with a light vowel before the final -ing. Mouth: start with the lips relaxed, tongue high for /æ/ or open vowels, then glide into a rounded /oʊ/ or rhoticized /əʊ/ before /ɪŋ/.
Two common errors: (1) Stressing the second syllable or distributing stress across syllables: HAR-ro-ing is correct; avoid /hə-RROW-ing/ or /hær-ROW-ing/. (2) Not gliding the /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ diphthong properly; some speakers shorten to /æɪ/ or mispronounce as /æroʊ/ without the /ʊ/ glide. Aim for /ˈhær.oʊ.ɪŋ/ with a genuine /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ glide and a crisp final /ɪŋ/.
In US English, /ˈhær.oʊ.ɪŋ/ with a rhotic /r/ and a conspicuous /oʊ/ diphthong. In UK English, /ˈhar.əʊ.ɪŋ/ often features a non-rhotic /r/ and a rounded /əʊ/ where the first syllable is slightly reduced to /ˈhɑː/ or /ˈhær./, and the second syllable uses /əʊ/ with less pronounced r-sound. Australian English tends to be rhotic with /ˈhær.oʊ.ɪŋ/ but slightly flatter vowels and a less prominent /oʊ/; the /r/ is often pronounced in more casual speech but can be muted in careful speech. IPA references align with regional vowel qualities and rhoticity.
Because it blends a stressed, heavy onset with a diphthong in the second syllable and a final velar nasal. The /æ/ vs /ɑː/ quality can trip non-native speakers, and the /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ diphthong requires precise tongue height and lip rounding. The trailing /ŋ/ needs velar closure with the velum lowered but not velarize the preceding vowel. Additionally, maintaining a clean, distinct first syllable /ˈhæɹ/ in rapid speech challenges rhythm and voicing.
A distinctive feature is the strong initial stress and the smooth transition into the /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ diphthong. Some speakers also reduce the second syllable slightly, resulting in /ˈhær.əʊ.ɪŋ/ vs /ˈhær.oʊ.ɪŋ/ depending on dialect. The final /ŋ/ is clear and unaspirated, which helps distinguish it from similar-sounding words with /m/ or /n/. Emphasize the first syllable and let the vowel glide carry into the final cluster for natural fluency.
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