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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 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
  • When reached by phone Tuesday morning, a woman who identified herself as Destiny’s mother declined to comment and requested privacy as the family grieves.
    — Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 25 Aug. 2026
  • My heart grieves for someone so special to this world and such a good friend to me.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of grieves
Verb
  • What plagues America right now, in Cox’s telling, is not bad manners, or even political division, but contempt—the conviction that those who don’t share our opinions or values are beneath us and unworthy of good-faith engagement.
    — McKay Coppins, The Atlantic, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Yet the monopolisation that plagues other top tiers, while not as stark in England, is creeping in.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of plagues
Verb
  • History and imagination mix as Hanks, playing Abraham Lincoln, mourns for his dead son, while the spirits of the dead, voiced by an A-list cast, meditate on grief and empathy.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026
  • As the world mourns Dolly Parton, Tennessee has plans to immortalize the late Queen of Country while welcoming visitors to Music City.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of mourns
Verb
  • The painful condition, which causes tissue similar to the lining of the uterus to grow on other parts of the body, afflicts 1 in 10 women worldwide.
    — Laura Ungar, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Unraveling Medical Mysteries Patients with undiagnosed conditions suffer not only from their symptoms but also from the uncertainly of not knowing what afflicts them.
    — The New York Review of Books, The New York Review of Books, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of afflicts
Verb
  • Layered background sighs, a resonant lead vocal, autumnal acoustic guitar flickers, synths both eerie and trippy—James has all his tricks on tap.
    — Ryan Leas, Pitchfork, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Inevitably the streak ends and everyone sighs, reflects and returns to work.
    — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 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
  • West Nile symptoms A full 80% of those infected may not show symptoms, but 20% have flu-like symptoms, such as a fever with headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea, rash or fatigue.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Common side effects for flu and COVID-19 vaccines are mild and temporary, such as sore arms, fatigue, headaches, muscle aches, and mild fever.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Sep. 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 16 Sep. 2026.

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