1
as in to persecute
to cause persistent suffering to
got into more trouble, further agonizing her poor mother
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to grieve
to feel deep sadness or mental pain
agonized for days over whether she'd done the right thing
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of agonize
Garden of Gethsemane The Garden of Gethsemane, at the base of the Mount of Olives, is said to be where Jesus agonized on the night of his arrest and crucifixion.
—
Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 11 Apr. 2025
Some parents on flights agonize over the idea of their young child causing midair disruption.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 May 2025
Worse, Liu’s one-dimensional moll spends the majority of her supporting screen time agonizing over toxic men, despite the actor’s best efforts to elevate the material.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 20 Feb. 2025
The only person with anything resembling nuance of complexity is Caleb, the white cop who agonizes over having pulled the trigger.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for agonize
Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 11 Apr. 2025
Some parents on flights agonize over the idea of their young child causing midair disruption.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 May 2025
Worse, Liu’s one-dimensional moll spends the majority of her supporting screen time agonizing over toxic men, despite the actor’s best efforts to elevate the material.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 20 Feb. 2025
The only person with anything resembling nuance of complexity is Caleb, the white cop who agonizes over having pulled the trigger.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for agonize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agonize
Verb
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With his penchant for menacing models, black-out contact lenses and jutting shoulders, Owens is also a forever torchbearer for different kinds of beauty, and a safe haven for people who feel persecuted for being outside the norm.—
Miles Socha,
Footwear News,
25 June 2025
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The regimes that persecute religious minorities are also the ones that oppress women, LGBTQ people, journalists, and dissidents.—
Nuri Kino,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 June 2025
Verb
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She’s encountered many grieving parents who lost their children to gunfire.—
Tribune News Service,
Twin Cities,
21 June 2025
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Like the notion of never stepping into the same river twice, the protagonist in my own book, upon finally accepting that loving a river is an act of loving an ever-changing, never-graspable flow, is irrevocably changed by that painful experience and yet doesn’t have the staying power to grieve it.—
Siouxzi Connor
June 20,
Literary Hub,
20 June 2025
Verb
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The last few projects have been plagued by delays and massive cost overruns.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
27 June 2025
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Pachuca’s failure plagued Salzburg as well, with the Austrian side needing a boost after things turned for the worse against Real Madrid, only to be denied – despite their social media admin’s best pleas.—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
27 June 2025
Verb
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These lonely senior citizens arrive at a Los Angeles bungalow where Fish, newly discharged from an asylum, wrestles with an imagined demon and Poinsettia mourns a fantasy romance with composer Giacomo Puccini.—
Armond White,
National Review,
25 June 2025
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His death at the age of 41 in 2021 was a global news story that was fueled in part by the millions who mourned him.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
Footwear News,
23 June 2025
Verb
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To put it into perspective, the National Organization for Rare Disorders estimates that one person on every elevator and four people on every bus are afflicted.—
Alexis Kayser,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 June 2025
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Those afflicted with sickle cell disease and their families turned out in support of World Sickle Cell Day at West Oakland’s DeFremery Park on Sunday.—
Jane Tyska,
Mercury News,
25 June 2025
Verb
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The slides are very comfortable and give my foot enough support to not ache at the end of the day!—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
21 June 2025
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Niamh has created a world that feels both thrillingly glamorous and emotionally raw, with characters who ache with ambition, desire, and heartbreak.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
18 June 2025
Verb
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Nicolás Maduro and his enforcers are running a criminal narco-terrorist dictatorship that jails political opponents, tortures dissidents, and crushes any hope of free expression.—
Rachel Wolf,
FOXNews.com,
27 June 2025
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An immigration judge determined that he would likely be persecuted or tortured if deported to Guatemala again, and granted him an order protecting him from removal.—
Solcyré Burga,
Time,
25 June 2025
Verb
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Viewers collectively sighed with relief knowing the dogs were looking up.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 June 2025
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Before immediately snapping, sighing loudly, or muttering a passive-aggressive comment, try pausing to consider what else might be going on first: Maybe your barista’s slammed with 10 other complicated orders, for instance, or your housemate had a brutal week at work.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
17 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Agonize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agonize. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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