agonizes

verb

present tense third-person singular of agonize
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of agonizes Alice’s viewpoint is boring, and anyone who agonizes about it forever will never get to the interesting parts. — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agonizes
  1. persecutes
  2. grieves
  3. plagues
  4. mourns
  5. afflicts
  6. sighs
  7. tortures
  8. aches
Verb
  • 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
Definition of persecutes
Verb
  • Every time someone dies, somebody grieves, a mother, a partner is bereft.
    — Shelby Hartman, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Pi-o grieves the death of his friend, unable to get out of bed for days.
    — Kayti Burt, Time, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of grieves
Verb
  • The depression that plagues him in winters is nowhere to be found.
    — David Mack, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Walker, who leads the NFL with 360 rushing yards, also is adept at avoiding an issue that plagues many ball carriers and receivers in the NFL.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of plagues
Verb
  • As the world mourns Patrick Stewart, Saturday Night Live paid tribute to the late former host on this weekend’s episode.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 31 Oct. 2026
  • Raised until his teens on Krypton, this Kal-El mourns its demise, and arrives on Earth nowhere near Kansas or the Kents.
    — Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of mourns
Verb
  • Today, Alzheimer’s afflicts roughly one in nine Americans over sixty-five and, along with related dementias, has been estimated to cost the economy about three-quarters of a trillion dollars a year.
    — Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The uncertainty that afflicts others about how to dress for one’s age, one’s job or even the weather doesn’t seem to unsettle this cohort.
    — The Learning Network, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of afflicts
Verb
  • The reason this sandwich has won my heart more than others in the city is the torpedo of bread they’re tucked into, which sighs and crackles, an entire universe of complexity and depth in its crumb.
    — Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2026
  • When football fans saw three straight Primetime games on the NFL schedule for the Atlanta Falcons, there were some social media eye rolls, sighs and more, and who could blame them?
    — Scott Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of sighs
Verb
  • At first, all signs point to Bobby, including a mercenary who survived the attack on Halstead Manor that Eddie tortures to extract information.
    — Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2026
  • On his latest Hyperdub release, the Japanese producer born Takahide Higuchi sings more than on previous records but tortures his voice through a gauntlet of pitch-shifter effects.
    — Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 27 July 2026
Definition of tortures
Verb
  • The majority of patients don't have symptoms, but about one in five will experience symptoms two to six days after being bitten, including fever, headaches, body aches, joint pain, diarrhea, vomiting or a rash.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Many infected people don’t get sick, but some experience fever, flu-like symptoms and — notoriously — aches.
    — Mike Stobbe, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of aches

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Cite this Entry

“Agonizes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agonizes. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

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