anguish

1 of 2

noun

an·​guish ˈaŋ-gwish 

: extreme pain, distress, or anxiety

cries of anguish

mental anguish

anguish

2 of 2

verb

anguished; anguishing; anguishes

intransitive verb

: to suffer anguish

He anguished over his failure.

transitive verb

: to cause to suffer anguish

a heart that had been anguished with sorrow

Synonyms of anguish

Noun

• distress
• agony
• pain
• misery
• discomfort

Verb

• plague
• persecute
• afflict
• torture
• torment

Choose the Right Synonym for anguish

sorrow, grief, anguish, woe, regret mean distress of mind.

sorrow implies a sense of loss or a sense of guilt and remorse.

a family united in sorrow upon the patriarch's death

grief implies poignant sorrow for an immediate cause.

the inexpressible grief of the bereaved parents

anguish suggests torturing grief or dread.

the anguish felt by the parents of the kidnapped child

woe is deep or inconsolable grief or misery.

cries of woe echoed throughout the bombed city

regret implies pain caused by deep disappointment, fruitless longing, or unavailing remorse.

nagging regret for missed opportunities

Examples of anguish in a Sentence

Noun

He experienced the anguish of divorce after 10 years of marriage.

They watched in anguish as fire spread through the house.

Verb

she was anguished by the fear that her sons would die in the war

I anguished over the loss of my father for years afterwards.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Despite the anguish — often told as a punch line — the winner of the competition offered a glimmer of hope to the nearly 90 attendees live-voting throughout the show via an app. —Brittany Levine Beckman, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026

The heart-stopping anguish of seeing two West Ham winners scored and then be ruled out only underlined the direction of this match’s one-way traffic. —Beren Cross, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2026

Verb

Hong Kong is an anguishing example. —Michelle Kuo, The Dial, 14 Apr. 2026

Especially for someone whose entire adult life has been immersed in the adrenaline-infusion of coaching — from its exhilarating highs and anguishing lows to simply always being in the middle of so much. —Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English angoise, angwissche, borrowed from Anglo-French anguisse, angoisse, going back to Latin angustia (usually in plural angustiae) "narrowness, narrow passage, limitations, straits" (Late Latin, "suffering, distress"), noun derivative (with -ia -y entry 2), of angustus "narrow, confined, straitened," probably from *angos- (whence angōr-, angor "suffocation, anguish") + *-to-, adjective suffix — more at anger entry 1

Verb

Middle English anguisen, anguischen "to grieve, be distressed," borrowed from Anglo-French anguisser, angoisser "to distress, cause pain to, (as reflexive verb) suffer, be tormented," going back to Late Latin angustiāre "to compress, afflict, be in difficult circumstances," derivative of Latin angustia "narrowness, straits" — more at anguish entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for anguish

• languish

Kids Definition

anguish

noun

an·​guish

ˈaŋ-gwish

: extreme pain or distress of body or mind

anguished

-gwisht

adjective