diff --git a/cpp/src/arrow/testing/process.cc b/cpp/src/arrow/testing/process.cc
index cf17047744b8a..6b37632bad1e5 100644
--- a/cpp/src/arrow/testing/process.cc
+++ b/cpp/src/arrow/testing/process.cc
@@ -229,6 +229,9 @@ class Process::Impl {
         }
         if (process_->running(error_code)) {
           std::cerr << "(failed graceful shutdown)" << std::endl;
+          std::cerr << "(start terminate)" << std::endl;
+          process_->terminate(error_code);
+          std::cerr << "(finished terminate)" << std::endl;
         }
       }
     }