excruciating

adjective

ex·​cru·​ci·​at·​ing ik-ˈskrü-shē-ˌā-tiŋ 

1

: causing great pain or anguish : agonizing

the nation's most excruciating dilemma

—W. H. Ferry

2

: very intense : extreme

excruciating pain

excruciatingly

ik-ˈskrü-shē-ˌā-tiŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• agonizing
• harrowing
• racking
• raging
• tormenting
• torturing
• torturous
• wrenching

Examples of excruciating in a Sentence

I have an excruciating headache.

an excruciating moment of embarrassment

They described their vacation in excruciating detail.

Recent Examples on the Web

But this week, senators known for their excruciating ability to fill dead air with the sound of their own voices will once again be required to sit and listen to an artificial discussion on artificial intelligence. —Matt Laslo, WIRED, 13 Sep. 2023

But the end result, also serving as Pine’s directorial debut, goes tonally off the rails from the start and proceeds to hit bottom with excruciating momentum, dragging a game ensemble, including Annette Bening, Danny DeVito and Jennifer Jason Leigh, down for the count. —Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Sep. 2023

And the clinic is only a container: a space in which to talk about and bear witness to suffering, physical or not, and to reckon with the excruciating human contradiction of our longing for meaning and our fear of it. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2023

Joe had been admitted to Saint Vincent last year after two days in the emergency room in excruciating pain because of a spinal cord compression. —Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Sep. 2023

The excruciating heat and severe weather continues here in Washington, and more than 75 million Americans are under a hot weather watch today. —CBS News, 23 July 2023

Peripheral neuropathy refers to nerve damage that can cause tingling, numbness, and excruciating pain in your extremities. —Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 15 Aug. 2023

For more than a year, life for many sriracha lovers has been an excruciating lesson in bland. —Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 15 Aug. 2023

The trip through Alaska fills a disproportionate section of this book, as Jokinen recounts the rain, snow, winds, ice, mud, gravel, excruciating climbs, clogged water filters, frozen extremities, mechanical malfunctions, and other obstacles on their long journey to Fairbanks. —David James, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Aug. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

excruciating

adjective

ex·​cru·​ci·​at·​ing

ik-ˈskrü-shē-ˌāt-iŋ

1

: causing great mental or physical pain : agonizing

excruciating torture

an excruciating decision to leave

2

: very severe

excruciating pain

excruciatingly

-iŋ-lē

adverb

Etymology

derived from Latin excruciatus, past participle of excruciare "to torture," from ex- "out of, from" and cruciare "to torment, crucify," from cruc-, crux "cross" — related to cross, crucial, crucify