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 of excruciating

• wrenching
• torturous
• agonizing
• intense
• torturing

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

After a fall-off in the early half of the 2024-25 season, that plan appeared to be realigning properly when the Blues made a run into the playoffs after the 4 Nations Face-Off, even with their excruciating first-round loss to the Winnipeg Jets. —Jeremy Rutherford, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026

The baby’s head was stuck and Nelson was in excruciating pain, so her husband insisted on a hospital transfer. —Aria Bendix, NBC news, 26 Feb. 2026

There was, unsurprisingly, a great deal of Trump-bashing and much talk of affordability, or rather, the excruciating lack of it in this priciest of states. —Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026

There was, unsurprisingly, a great deal of Trump-bashing and much talk of affordability, or rather, the excruciating lack of it in this priciest of states. —Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for excruciating

• accelerating
• accentuating
• accommodating
• accumulating
• adjudicating
• administrating
• affiliating
• agglutinating
• alienating
• alleviating
• amalgamating
• ameliorating

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