1
as in persecutes
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 grieves
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 agonizes
Her ex-husband, a good father, refuses to move the boy to the town and Eden agonizes about taking the boy from his friends and school in the Twin Cities.
—
Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 12 Apr. 2026
McClarnon, 59, not only stars but produces, directs and agonizes about getting it right.
—Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 15 Feb. 2026
Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 12 Apr. 2026
McClarnon, 59, not only stars but produces, directs and agonizes about getting it right.
—Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 15 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agonizes
Verb
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China, which jails human rights activists in Hong Kong, persecutes Uyghurs, has killed hundreds of thousands of Tibetans and has committed genocide against the Falun Gong, is on the UN Human Rights Council.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
In Russia, the civilian repressive apparatus persecutes the military, which leaps at every chance for revenge.—
Stephen Kotkin,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The Professor, with only her ex-partner’s cat for company, sits in her decaying apartment and grieves the loss of her relationship and her struggle with infertility.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 May 2026
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The film follows a woman who grieves the loss of her mother by secretly attending the funerals of strangers.—
Brayden Garcia,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Odd moment plagues fourth quarter As the Knicks held on to their fairly sizable lead, a fan ran onto the court, tried to take a selfie with Wembanyama but was quickly apprehended by security.—
Jacob Lev,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
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Early has been significantly better on the road than at home this year, a problem that plagues the team as a whole.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Art eventually processes its history—mourns it, rather.—
Jonathan Odden,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
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Amid playoff cheering hockey mourns the suicide of Claude Lemieux at 60.—
Greg Cote
May 31,
Miami Herald,
31 May 2026
Verb
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Consider osteoarthritis, which afflicts roughly 33 million Americans by gradually wearing down cartilage in the joints.—
Bryan T. Kelly,
Fortune,
29 Apr. 2026
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Regeneron also gained Food and Drug Administration approval on April 23 for its gene therapy, Otarmeni, which will be prescribed to treat a rare type of hearing loss that afflicts about 50 newborns in the United States each year.—
Ken Alltucker,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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When placed in front of him, the child either cowers backward in fear and sighs with relief when it's turned off or uses the Force to deactivate it.—
Kirsten Acuna,
PEOPLE,
30 Apr. 2026
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No subtle sighs about the laundry pile.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Miami Herald,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The retrospection tortures her.—
Alexandra Rockey Fleming,
PEOPLE,
14 Jan. 2026
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Later, in one of the movie's most satisfying scenes, Millie locks Andrew in the attic and tortures him by loudly smashing each plate.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Common symptoms include a fever, chills, fatigue, headache, body aches, chest tightness, coughing, shortness of breath and airway irritation.—
Ryan Brennan
June 2,
Sacbee.com,
3 June 2026
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First symptoms often include extreme tiredness, headaches, swollen lymph nodes and muscle aches.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Agonizes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agonizes. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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