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
W. H. Ferry2
: very intense : extreme
excruciating pain
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
Due to the nature of the explosion, recovery efforts have proven to be excruciating for victims’ families and investigators working to clear the area, potentially detonating and recovering any other explosives in the vicinity and using DNA to identify remains, officials have said.
—Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2025
On the other sideline, the Bears imploded after the loss, dropping their next nine games, some in equally excruciating fashion.
—David Aldridge, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
For four years in a row, the Phillies have entered the postseason with high hopes of a World Series and come up short in excruciating fashion.
—Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
That is because Deadline is checking out the follow-up to John Morton’s BAFTA-winning BBC satirical comedies Twenty Twelve and W1A, shows that have landed cult status for their excruciating ode to Britishness and in-depth examination of the behind-the-scenes machinations of public institutions.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for excruciating
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2025
On the other sideline, the Bears imploded after the loss, dropping their next nine games, some in equally excruciating fashion.
—David Aldridge, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
For four years in a row, the Phillies have entered the postseason with high hopes of a World Series and come up short in excruciating fashion.
—Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
That is because Deadline is checking out the follow-up to John Morton’s BAFTA-winning BBC satirical comedies Twenty Twelve and W1A, shows that have landed cult status for their excruciating ode to Britishness and in-depth examination of the behind-the-scenes machinations of public institutions.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for excruciating
Cite this Entry
“Excruciating.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excruciating. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share