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
On Capitol Hill, the House muscled through several new cryptocurrency bills, while the Senate agonized over a $9 billion rescissions package for foreign aid and public media before ultimately sending it to Trump for a signature.
—
Miriam Waldvogel, The Hill, 19 July 2025
Too many engineers agonize over which JavaScript framework to learn or which AutoCAD toolset to master.
—IEEE Spectrum, 2 July 2025
Sydney agonizes over the question of whether to abandon Carm and the Bear for a more functional (if annoying) chef who’s trying to poach her.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 26 June 2025
As Kevin agonized, the 3A customer service reps dangled a solution: Just wire the funds again and unlock your $1.4 million.
—Cezary Podkul, ProPublica, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for agonize
Miriam Waldvogel, The Hill, 19 July 2025
Too many engineers agonize over which JavaScript framework to learn or which AutoCAD toolset to master.
—IEEE Spectrum, 2 July 2025
Sydney agonizes over the question of whether to abandon Carm and the Bear for a more functional (if annoying) chef who’s trying to poach her.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 26 June 2025
As Kevin agonized, the 3A customer service reps dangled a solution: Just wire the funds again and unlock your $1.4 million.
—Cezary Podkul, ProPublica, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for agonize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agonize
Verb
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The safest course would be to force out the Americans, persecute the Sunnis, and then let the Shiite factions bicker forever.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
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His deportation to El Salvador violated a 2019 court order that protected him from being deported to his home country because of concerns that he’d be persecuted by violent gangs.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Kansas City’s restaurant community was reeling after his death, and the community showed an outpouring of support through monetary donations that went on to support Brady’s grieving family.—
Kendrick Calfee,
Kansas City Star,
4 Sep. 2025
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Fellow church members made phone calls, sent text messages and sent condolence cards to Cartwright during these periods of grieving.—
Jose R. Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Tigers have been plagued by poor starting pitching, a thin bullpen and an offense that hasn’t played with the same spark since the All-Star break.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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Aligning With San Francisco’s Health Care Security Ordinance San Francisco’s Health Care Security Ordinance was designed to expand access, but the system has long been plagued by complexity.—
Chelsea Davis,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Nashville Zoo is mourning the loss of the matriarch of its giraffe herd.—
Kirsten Fiscus,
Nashville Tennessean,
2 Sep. 2025
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Fellow Chicago boaters said that the boating community is mourning the loss of Abzal.—
Nadine El-Bawab,
ABC News,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Those who dismissed intersectionality saw such policies as little more than allowing the disadvantaged to commit crimes without consequences to make up for past inequities, afflicting crime victims from the same disadvantaged communities.—
John Scott Lewinski,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
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Griffin, who does clinical work in Long Island, New York, said his sister-in-law is in her 40s and quite wary of long COVID, the enduring, debilitating health issues that have afflicted millions of Americans who contracted the coronavirus.—
Jorge L. Ortiz,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Korean maestro Park Chan-wook’s wildly inventive black comedy No Other Choice was possibly the festival favorite with critics, while Yorgos Lanthimos’ bonkers Bugonia and Sorrentino’s aching La Grazia were also celebrated as exquisite returns to form.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Sep. 2025
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Her endlessly inventive vocal approach and aching tenderness with ballads earned her a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master designation in 2012.—
Duante Beddingfield,
Freep.com,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Emily Brontë appears in every way indifferent to the need for love and companionship that tortured the lives of her sisters.—
Emily Temple
September 5,
Literary Hub,
5 Sep. 2025
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Jamie Simpson of Covington was sentenced in March to 60 years in prison for holding his wife captive and torturing her for hours before barricading himself inside her home in a lengthy standoff with police.—
Quinlan Bentley,
The Enquirer,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Andy sighed, shuddering between them.—
Bryan Washington,
New Yorker,
7 Sep. 2025
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And while many might be reluctant to close the time capsule door on their beloved skinnies, some of us are sighing with relief that the current denim trend is comfy enough for travel.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Agonize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agonize. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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