1
as in horrors
a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness
waiting all those hours to hear if he'd survived the plane crash was pure agony
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pains
a state of great suffering of body or mind
the agony of never knowing what happened to her son
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in explosions
a sudden intense expression of strong feeling
the announcement that the war was over unleashed a mass agony of joy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of agonies
The agonies of the day were only intermittently audible in the music on offer in Witten.
—
Alex Ross, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
The celebrated poet and memoirist, delves into the agonies of her decision and describes the emerging women’s liberation movement, of which Moore would soon become a participant.
—Literary Hub, 20 Mar. 2026
Alex Ross, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
The celebrated poet and memoirist, delves into the agonies of her decision and describes the emerging women’s liberation movement, of which Moore would soon become a participant.
—Literary Hub, 20 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agonies
Noun
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If Son of Saul was about the horrors of war, Moulin is about the climate of war, and the opening is breathtakingly tense in that respect.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
18 May 2026
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Yenor’s suggestion that feminism—with its attendant horrors of work outside the home, birth control, and financial independence—has made women neurotic and dependent on pharmaceuticals is now an article of faith on the right.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
Ebola causes a hemorrhagic fever, with symptoms that start with fever, aches, pains and fatigue before progressing to diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding, according to the public health agency.—
Zachary Folk,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
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But in the four years between the two terms, Xi had taken pains to ensure this tactic would no longer work, with export controls on rare earth metals that are indispensable to American arms manufacturers and carmakers.—
Rob Crilly,
The Washington Examiner,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
One person has died after a fire and two explosions Friday at a New York City shipyard, officials say.—
Michael R. Sisak,
Chicago Tribune,
23 May 2026
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Underground explosions often are blamed on lack of ventilation equipment to clear gas that seeps from the coal bed.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 May 2026
Noun
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Recurring nightmares are a meaningful red flag.—
Allison Palmer,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
23 May 2026
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For the last few years, he’s been mired in a complex web of mounting fees and permit nightmares, getting punted back and forth between city departments like a fraying football.—
Jack Flemming,
Los Angeles Times,
22 May 2026
Noun
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Even their coach embodies a respectful, reflective male ideal and disciplines his athletes rather than celebrating them for outbursts of anger.—
Anna Rinderspacher,
Glamour,
20 May 2026
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Even Republicans, who usually feigned ignorance about the President’s social-media outbursts, were weighing in.—
Jason Zengerle,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
Noun
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The parallels between Ines’ dilemma and that of a nation being asked to lick its wounds in silence — in the name of moving on from past miseries — are present but elusive.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
14 May 2026
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For those millions of Americans, spring weather brings sniffles, itchy eyes, asthma exacerbation, and other miseries, with effects ranging from mild symptoms to serious medical emergencies.—
Keerti Gopal,
ArsTechnica,
8 May 2026
Noun
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The discordant, Bernard Herrmann-esque bursts of María Portugal’s rich score ratchet up the suspense and foreboding.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2026
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We were immediately greeted by a resplendence of wildflowers, including purple-pink woolly bluecurls, bright orange southern bush monkey flower, red bursts of cardinal catchfly and at least one Catalina Mariposa lily.—
Jaclyn Cosgrove,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
Noun
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The bleak tortures Ohm concocts for his characters are as vile as the Bilberry’s fetid jacuzzi.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
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But such judgments often come from a place of distance—from people who have never lived under a theocracy that imprisons, tortures, and kills with impunity.—
Nazanin Boniadi,
Time,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Agonies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agonies. Accessed 25 May. 2026.
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