as in to plague
to cause persistent suffering to
the villagers were gaunt and sickly, harrowed by years of disease and starvation
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Recent Examples of harrow
Before the big race, the track was harrowed, bringing it to a better and drier racing surface.
—
John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2025
The research fellow who met me, Birte, was in her forties, and appeared as if she had been harrowed by her work.
—John Ganz, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
Plus, Shin Ha-young is given little to do in the second half of the series despite her effortless shift from warm third wheel to harrowed and weary abuse victim.
—Geoffrey Bunting, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2023
That same humble deity, in the course of putting on humanity, had obtained a glimpse of the conditions on earth—poverty, needless estrangement, a stubborn pattern of rich ruling over poor—and decided to incite a revolution that would harrow Hell.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 28 Dec. 2020
John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2025
The research fellow who met me, Birte, was in her forties, and appeared as if she had been harrowed by her work.
—John Ganz, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
Plus, Shin Ha-young is given little to do in the second half of the series despite her effortless shift from warm third wheel to harrowed and weary abuse victim.
—Geoffrey Bunting, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2023
That same humble deity, in the course of putting on humanity, had obtained a glimpse of the conditions on earth—poverty, needless estrangement, a stubborn pattern of rich ruling over poor—and decided to incite a revolution that would harrow Hell.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 28 Dec. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harrow
Verb
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The tennis elbows that forced him to miss the first few months of the 2025 season still require maintenance, and he’s been plagued by various lower-body injuries throughout his Yankees career.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
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Pablo Escobar's reign of terror didn't end with his death and continues today in the form of a horde of hippos plaguing the Colombian countryside.—
Carlie Procell,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In 1602, she was afflicted by a slew of symptoms, such as convulsions, fits, and terrors.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
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And so what was once out of bounds continued to move within the Pale, and a scourge went on afflicting politicians and groypers and, yes, comedians alike.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Walker, however, agreed with the majority that the president cannot deport migrants to countries where they will be persecuted or strip them of mandatory procedures that protect against their removal.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
25 Apr. 2026
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Walker, however, agreed with the majority that the president cannot deport migrants to countries where they will be persecuted or strip them of mandatory procedures that protect against their removal.—
Michael Kunzelman,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Najib was in that position in 2011 when teenagers who scrawled antigovernment graffiti on a school wall in Daraa were arrested and tortured.—
Ghaith Alsayed,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
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Towns tortured the Hawks, scoring 20 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists, marking the first triple-double of his playoff career.—
James L. Edwards III,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Hokum gives you a taste of one tormented scribe’s fiction before introducing you to the man behind the keyboard.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
30 Apr. 2026
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However, no ransom was ever paid, and no proof of life was ever produced, which has left Clemente to theorize that perhaps Nancy was kidnapped to torment her family.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harrow. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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