harrowing vs piteous

harrowing

adj
  • Causing pain or distress. 

noun
  • The process of breaking up earth with a harrow. 

  • Christ's ravaging or hostile incursion of Hell, conducted between his crucifixion and resurrection, in which he liberated the souls of the righteous held captive by Satan. 

  • Suffering, torment. 

  • Ravaging; hostile incursion; spoliation; intentional widespread destruction. 

piteous

adj
  • Provoking pity, compassion, or sympathy. 

How often have the words harrowing and piteous occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )