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
Relevance
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
Hadi’s exceptional attention gives cinematic identity to collective artisanal energy, to the life force of care and devotion that stands outside the agonies of politics, to the spirit that endures a regime and outlives it.
—
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2026
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agonies
Noun
-
Derry Girls, which followed teens in McGee’s native Derry in the years preceding 1998’s Good Friday Agreement, was a raucous, joke-dense show that juxtaposed mundane adolescent rites of passage with the daily horrors of life in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
27 Feb. 2026
-
The Scream 7 opening in theaters this weekend is now the story of a new Ghostface targeting Sidney's daughter Tatum (May), who's the same age Sidney was when the horrors began in 1996's Scream.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
After a whole season exploring the pains of being an illegitimate child and fears of pregnancy, Sophie and Benedict are now free to have children that would be welcomed warmly into society.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
27 Feb. 2026
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But these are the standard-issue growing pains the NHL routinely beats into developing rosters.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In Jordan, several explosions believed to be missiles being intercepted were heard along with the sound of fighter jets.—
Jane Arraf,
NPR,
28 Feb. 2026
-
At least three explosions were heard Saturday evening near the Intelligence Ministry building in northern Tehran, witnesses said, adding that air defense systems had begun operating there.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Kayce’s days are spent wrangling horses, and his evenings being haunted by nightmares of tragedies past.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Feb. 2026
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Audre Lorde kept track of her nightmares and talked about going from the nightmare to the poem.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Police were called twice to the home to respond to apparent angry outbursts from Bushey, once after the knives were removed, and once after the locks were changed, which reportedly led Bushey to break off a doorknob to enter the house.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Feb. 2026
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Williams said the involuntary outbursts, commonly called tics, can be affected by stress or environment, and while there are ways to ease the outbursts, completely controlling them is a struggle.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
This week’s massive winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow on at least 19 states, including those like Texas and Tennessee that are less prepared to deal with the miseries of winter weather.—
Amy Feldman,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
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The victims of prejudice and inequality are always the best guardians of the ramparts that sustain those miseries.—
Cressida Leyshon,
New Yorker,
23 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Other researchers have studied these kinds of bursts before, but this sneaker study examines friction happening at much faster speeds.—
Adithi Ramakrishnan,
Fortune,
26 Feb. 2026
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In general, her scoring sprees feel more sustainable and less like streaky bursts of shooting.—
Caleb Yum,
Austin American Statesman,
26 Feb. 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
-
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 4 Mar. 2026.
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