agonize
verb
ag·o·nize
ˈa-gə-ˌnīz 
agonized; agonizing
1
: to suffer agony, torture, or anguish
agonizes over every decision
2
: struggle
… baseless wisdom … requires that a writer … must agonize … for a minimum of two years for each one that he spends writing.—
George V. Higgins
George V. HigginsExamples 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 on the Web
Her ex-husband, a good father, refuses to move the boy to the town and Eden agonizes about taking the boy from his friends and school in the Twin Cities.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 12 Apr. 2026
Tyran Stokes, hailed as the top prospect in the high school class of 2026, has bounced up and down the West Coast, attending three different high schools in four years, while fans on Reddit scrutinize his performance and national media agonize over his oscillating college decision.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2026
Even a lot of contemporary fiction, where the scenario of characters agonizing over whether to have children has become quite common, defaults to a laconic style (very short paragraphs separated by empty space, for example) that channels the familiar wariness about lushness.
—Aaron Matz, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
To accept that there will always be creatures teeming nearby, some of them agonizing, expelled from their days.
—María Ospina, The Dial, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for agonize
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Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 12 Apr. 2026
Tyran Stokes, hailed as the top prospect in the high school class of 2026, has bounced up and down the West Coast, attending three different high schools in four years, while fans on Reddit scrutinize his performance and national media agonize over his oscillating college decision.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2026
Even a lot of contemporary fiction, where the scenario of characters agonizing over whether to have children has become quite common, defaults to a laconic style (very short paragraphs separated by empty space, for example) that channels the familiar wariness about lushness.
—Aaron Matz, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
To accept that there will always be creatures teeming nearby, some of them agonizing, expelled from their days.
—María Ospina, The Dial, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for agonize
Cite this Entry
“Agonize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agonize. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
agonize
verb
ag·o·nize
ˈag-ə-ˌnīz
agonized; agonizing
: to suffer or cause to suffer extreme pain or anguish of body or mind
agonizingly
adverb
-ˌnī-ziŋ-lē
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