harrowing
adjective
[ ˈharəʊɪŋ ]
• acutely distressing.
• "a harrowing film about racism and violence"
harrow
verb
• draw a harrow over (land).
• "they ploughed and harrowed the heavy clay"
• cause distress to.
• "Todd could take it, whereas I'm harrowed by it"
Similar:
distress,
trouble,
afflict,
grieve,
torment,
torture,
crucify,
rack,
sear,
pain,
wound,
mortify,
cause agony to,
cause suffering to,
cut up,
distressing,
traumatic,
upsetting,
heartbreaking,
heart-rending,
shocking,
disturbing,
painful,
affecting,
haunting,
appalling,
tragic,
horrifying,
gut-wrenching,
distressful,
Origin:
Middle English: from Old Norse herfi ; obscurely related to Dutch hark ‘rake’.
