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
And yet, in the scene on the Hill of Love, Lapid offers no self-questioning, no sense of cinematic exertion or trouble, in the fictional framing of the real agonies of Gaza.
—
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 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
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 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
-
Glossing other people’s words brought a sense of security but wouldn’t help children confront life’s horrors.—
Tim Parks,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
-
One of them is a squirmy, intensely relatable dark comedy about the escalating horrors of planning a wedding.—
Hannah Jocelyn,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Bondi's public embrace of the president, however, marked a sharp departure from her predecessors, who generally took pains to maintain an arm's-length distance from the White House to protect the impartiality of investigations and prosecutions.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Whether biennials or museum shows, exhibitions are spaces for learning about images, the world, and the pains and delights of being alive.—
Raphael Fonseca,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Authorities reinforced security around Jewish sites in the wake of explosions last month outside synagogues in Liege, Belgium, and the Dutch port city of Rotterdam and outside a Jewish school in Amsterdam.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Apr. 2026
-
The special effects supervisor on a movie set is responsible for designing and executing practical, in-camera effects such as explosions, pyrotechnics, rigs, and atmospheric elements.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Travelers say surprise charges, long lines and poor service are turning routine rentals into travel nightmares.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
-
His serious health issues began in 2023 — loss of appetite, shaky hands, chills, severe anxiety, recurring nightmares and small seizures during sleep.—
Ryan Brennan,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Trump’s outbursts bespoke the frustration of a thoroughly incompetent ruler who began a war with no plan for how to conduct or conclude it and was unprepared for Iran’s resistance.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
8 Apr. 2026
-
It’s been nearly two months since the BAFTA Film Awards were upended by a series of profoundly upsetting outbursts during the February ceremony.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Inarguably one of the best teams in the country annually, the Boilermakers had a string of March miseries.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
18 Mar. 2026
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And allergy miseries don’t end after the spring.—
Tom Gavin,
EverydayHealth.com,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The American Beauty rose is a climbing rose that adds bursts of color to your fence.—
Claudia Guthrie,
The Spruce,
9 Apr. 2026
-
The first of these—a cult favorite among writers, particularly youngish women writers—put Lemann on the map as a singular stylist, capable of crystalline insights into the miscreants and oddballs of the American South and great bursts of unrestrained sentiment.—
Brandy Jensen,
New Yorker,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In that final part of the cycle—the writing part—were torments, perhaps even tortures, but good things happened.—
Jake Lundberg,
The Atlantic,
19 Feb. 2026
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Former Jews deemed insufficiently converted faced the Spanish Inquisition’s tortures.—
David Bloom,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Agonies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agonies. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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