agonizing

1 hard to accept or bear especially emotionally agonizing cries rose up from the dungeon Synonyms afflicting, bitter, cruel, excruciating, galling, grievous, harrowing, harsh, heartrending, hurtful, painful, tormenting, torturousRelated Words insufferable, insupportable, intolerable, unacceptable, unbearable, unendurable, unsupportable; appalling, awful, bad, dire, dreadful, ghastly, horrible, miserable, nasty, rotten, severe, terrible, vile, wretched; acute, extreme, intense, piercingNear Antonyms bearable, endurable, supportable, sustainable, tolerable; livable (also liveable), sufferable, survivable; acceptable, allowable, reasonableAntonyms gratifying, pleasing, sweet

2 intensely or unbearably painful died an agonizing death Synonyms excruciating, harrowing, racking, raging, tormenting, torturing, torturous, wrenchingRelated Words acute, exquisite, extreme, fierce, intense, vehement, violent; biting, cutting, penetrating, piercing, sharp, shooting, smarting, stabbing, stinging, tearing, tingling