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Dreadful vs Harrowing - What's the difference?

dreadful | harrowing | Related terms |

As adjectives the difference between dreadful and harrowing

is that dreadful is causing dread; very bad while harrowing is causing pain or distress.

As nouns the difference between dreadful and harrowing

is that dreadful is a shocking or sensational crime while harrowing is the process of breaking up earth with a harrow.

As a verb harrowing is

present participle of lang=en.

dreadful

English

Alternative forms

* (l) (archaic) * (l) (obsolete)

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Causing dread; very bad.
  • * 1900 , , (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) Chapter 23
    • "My greatest wish now," she added, "is to get back to Kansas, for Aunt Em will surely think something dreadful has happened to me, and that will make her put on mourning; and unless the crops are better this year than they were last, I am sure Uncle Henry cannot afford it."
  • *, chapter=17
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything. In a moment she had dropped to the level of a casual labourer.}}
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 10, author=Marc Higginson, work=BBC Sport
    • , title= Bolton 1-2 Aston Villa , passage=After a dreadful performance in the opening 45 minutes, they upped their game after the break and might have taken at least a point from the match.}}

    Usage notes

    * Nouns to which "dreadful" is often applied: day, night, state, news, time, secret, storm, mistake, accident, story, dream, havoc, truth, loss, act, life, thought, creature, curse, suffering.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A shocking or sensational crime.
  • A shocking or sensational report of a crime.

    • Derived terms

    * penny dreadful

    References

    * (EtymOnLine)

    harrowing

    English

    Verb

    (head)

    • Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Causing pain or distress.
  • * 2006 , , Concrete: Killer Smile , Dark Horse Books, cover text
    • Harrowing journeys down the dark roads of anger, violence, and madness
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-01
    • , author=Brian Hayes , title=Father of Fractals , volume=101, issue=1, page=62 , magazine= citation , passage=Toward the end of the war, Benoit was sent off on his own with forged papers; he wound up working as a horse groom at a chalet in the Loire valley. Mandelbrot describes this harrowing youth with great sangfroid.}}

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The process of breaking up earth with a harrow.
    • The field received two harrowings .