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

The ancient Romans apparently ground their hairs into an excruciating poison. — Ben Crair, New Yorker, 31 July 2026

The contents of Fauci’s diary, revealed this past weekend and published online by Senator Rand Paul, are—there is no other way to put it—embarrassing to an excruciating degree. — Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 29 July 2026

Joshua was discharged from hospital after two days but earlier this week his promoter Eddie Hearn told the BBC that in the early stages of his recovery, just a slight movement in bed would be excruciating pain for the boxer. — Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 25 July 2026

Writers tend to find this process—reducing a complex, nuanced work of art down to a tidy cartoon version of itself—excruciating. — Literary Hub, 15 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for excruciating

• abdicating
• abrogating
• activating
• actuating
• advocating
• aggravating
• aggregating
• agitating
• allocating
• alternating
• animating
• annotating

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