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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of agonize
To accept that there will always be creatures teeming nearby, some of them agonizing, expelled from their days.
—
María Ospina, The Dial, 31 Mar. 2026
Because coverage is guaranteed, people do not have to agonize every year over choosing a health plan based on countless variables.
—Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, The Conversation, 19 Mar. 2026
The parents who keep looking for him, agonizing over his health.
—Connor Letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Mar. 2026
Some 36,000 fans at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field, and many more tuning in on radio and television, agonized through one of the Fall Classic’s wildest and most emotional conclusions.
—Hillel Italie, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for agonize
María Ospina, The Dial, 31 Mar. 2026
Because coverage is guaranteed, people do not have to agonize every year over choosing a health plan based on countless variables.
—Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, The Conversation, 19 Mar. 2026
The parents who keep looking for him, agonizing over his health.
—Connor Letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Mar. 2026
Some 36,000 fans at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field, and many more tuning in on radio and television, agonized through one of the Fall Classic’s wildest and most emotional conclusions.
—Hillel Italie, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for agonize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agonize
Verb
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Alex isn’t persecuted for being trans.—
Brittany Delay,
Mercury News,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Jews were not necessarily being persecuted in Hungary at that point.—
Marcy Thompson,
Scientific American,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The roar of applause from a grieving mother, not to mention a hug and handshake, has a deeper meaning.—
Jermont Terry,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
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The alternative was to remain holed up in their Bushwick apartment, grieving.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But the Cubs’ offensive woes plagued them more than a misthrow from their reliever.—
Andy Martinez,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Apr. 2026
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By the same token, one of the biggest bugs plaguing AMC’s The Audacity may be the timing.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Another family quietly grieves in North Carolina While the string of attacks rattles several communities in Georgia, Prianna Weathers’ mother mourns privately in her North Carolina home.—
Holly Yan,
CNN Money,
17 Apr. 2026
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Relatives of Ghadir Baalbaki, 19, who was killed Tuesday in an Israeli airstrike, mourn at her funeral in Tyre, Lebanon.—
Daniel Arkin,
NBC news,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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These are important messages for a world afflicted by war and division.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
14 Apr. 2026
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The idea that anyone not afflicted by a death wish might initiate a high-speed accident with a thirty-eight-ton tractor-trailer seemed ludicrous.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In other words, resilience is not about sealing the wound and pretending it no longer aches.—
Keith M. Bellizzi,
The Conversation,
13 Apr. 2026
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At this point, my knees were already aching.—
Christian Allaire,
Vogue,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The 14-year-old was kidnapped, tortured and killed in 1955 after being accused of whistling at a white woman in a rural Mississippi grocery store.—
Gary Fields,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Apr. 2026
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For years, deportations could be indefinitely delayed if an immigrant successfully argued that they’d be tortured or persecuted if they were returned home.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
From that day forward, everyone sighed and said what a year.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Apr. 2026
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In the series premiere of Netflix’s Vladimir, Rachel Weisz awakens from troubled sleep to a cascade of texts, sighs deeply, and addresses the camera with pleading eyes.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Agonize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agonize. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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