throe

1 a sharp unpleasant sensation usually felt in some specific part of the body <collapsed in the throes of agony> Synonyms ache, pang, prick, shoot, smart, sting, stitch, pain, tingle, twingeRelated Words discomfort, distress, soreness, tenderness; affliction, agony, anguish, misery, sufferance, suffering, torment, torture; inflammation, sore, swelling; damage, detriment, harm, hurt, injury; backache, bellyache, charley horse, colic, complaint, earache, gripe, headache, stomachache, toothacheNear Antonyms comfort, ease, easiness

2 throes pl  a forceful effort to reach a goal or objective <that third-world country is caught up in the throes of a democratic revolution> Synonyms battle, fight, fray, scrabble, throesRelated Words effort, exertion, labor, pains, trouble, work; drudgery, grind, sweat, toil, travail; combat, conflict, contest, strife, tussle, war, warfare; attempt, endeavor, essay, try