agonize

verb ag·o·nize \ ˈa-gə-ˌnīz \

|Updated on: 5 Aug 2018

Examples: agonize in a Sentence

Definition of agonize

agonized; agonizing

transitive verb

: to cause to suffer agony : torture

intransitive verb

1 : to suffer agony, torture, or anguish

agonizes over every decision

2 : struggle

See agonize defined for English-language learners

See agonize defined for kids

Examples of agonize in a Sentence

got into more trouble, further agonizing her poor mother
agonized for days over whether she'd done the right thing

Recent Examples of agonize from the Web

Click to Read Story IVF Testing Spurs a Debate Over ‘Mosaic’ Embryos Some women hoping to get pregnant—and the doctors treating them—agonize over using embryos with some abnormal cells.

— sumathi reddy, WSJ, "From Meditation to Medication: Headspace Has a Prescription Strategy," 25 June 2018
For three days, the family of Anthony A. Belton Jr. feverishly searched and agonized over the whereabouts of the 24-year-old father.

— glenn e. rice, kansascity, "Police could not ID crash victim. Family asks: Why didn't they ask public for help?," 7 June 2018
Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are agonizing as a young couple whose dreams and love for each other soon collapse under the weight of financial struggles, a child and alcoholism.

— New York Times, "What’s on TV Thursday: ‘Secret City’ and ‘Blue Valentine’," 5 July 2018
Some injuries and losses are agonizing to read about, but most of the Wrights — Cody especially — don’t make much of a fuss.

— michael berry, San Francisco Chronicle, "‘The Last Cowboys: A Pioneer Family in the New West,’ by John Branch," 17 May 2018
The spectacle of one boy’s agonizing battle against an inflexible bureaucracy has made Prime Minister Theresa May’s response look flat-footed, while prompting a wider debate about legalizing the drug itself for recreational use.

— stephen castle, New York Times, "Stung by a Boy’s Suffering, U.K. Reviews Medical Marijuana Rules," 19 June 2018
That's one of the reasons the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Finance, and the Board of Education agonize over these budgets.

— janice steinhagen, Courant Community, "Griswold Voters Approve .34 Mil Tax Increase," 13 June 2018
Zenger agonized over the decision, his first firing of a coach, but Moser was 51-67 and the firing was understood in the MVC offices.

— vahe gregorian, kansascity, "'Two little kids' from Overland Park epitomize charm and resolve of Loyola-Chicago | The Kansas City Star," 29 Mar. 2018
This was fairly conventional dramatic material, but with scenes being posted in real time, Andem said, Noora’s predicament felt agonizing.

— d. t. max, The New Yorker, "“SKAM,” the Radical Teen Drama That Unfolds One Post at a Time," 23 Jan. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'agonize.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of agonize

borrowed from Middle French agoniser "to exercise, struggle, suffer, (in past participle agonisé) torment," borrowed from Medieval Latin agōnizāre "to struggle, suffer death pangs," going back to Late Latin, "to fight, wrestle," borrowed from Greek agōnízesthai "to contest, fight," verbal derivative of agṓn "assembly, contest" — more at agony

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1570

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 2

See Words from the same year