1
as in painful
hard to accept or bear especially emotionally
agonizing cries rose up from the dungeon
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in wrenching
intensely or unbearably painful
died an agonizing death
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in suffering
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in indecision
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
1
as in plaguing
to cause persistent suffering to
got into more trouble, further agonizing her poor mother
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in grieving
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 agonizing
David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2026
For Heather, those days were agonizing.
—Sarah Dahlberg, NBC news, 13 May 2026
Rand Richards Cooper, Hartford Courant, 8 Jan. 2026
Aleks Klosok, CNN Money, 26 Feb. 2026
In her second memoir, Keaton still admits to agonizing over her thinning hair.
—Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for agonizing
Adjective
In a movie that’s almost operatic in its cymbal clashes of violence, its agonizing tensions and vicious threats, the heartstopping scene in which Hester receives her diagnosis at the doctor’s office is perhaps the single most devastating moment.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2026
For Heather, those days were agonizing.
—Sarah Dahlberg, NBC news, 13 May 2026
Noun
My agonizing over a coin toss illustrates the basic distortion that gambling exerts on spectating.
—Rand Richards Cooper, Hartford Courant, 8 Jan. 2026
Verb
Since then, Arsenal has flirted with a series of agonizing near misses, most notably pipped at the post by Manchester City in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 Premier League campaigns.
—Aleks Klosok, CNN Money, 26 Feb. 2026
In her second memoir, Keaton still admits to agonizing over her thinning hair.
—Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for agonizing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agonizing
Adjective
-
Loafers can sometimes feel weirdly stiff straight out of the box, but this popular Uptown pair skips that painful break-in phase.—
Chaise Sanders,
Travel + Leisure,
25 May 2026
-
But as the disease progressed, their relationship fractured in painful ways.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
24 May 2026
Adjective
-
Another wrenching question, of course, is whether at least the younger Perez siblings would want or need to go with Olga to Guatemala if she were deported.—
Tim Padgett,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Mar. 2026
-
These four novels create a convincing, wrenching, kaleidoscopic picture of the range and repetitions of the most fatal kind of love; the sort of love that allows nothing else to grow around it, that eradicates all dignity; a love which, in order to be completed, must be told.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Here, against the intimate interiority of this elegant narrative, untamed urges clash with Confucian ideals of filial piety and Buddhist undertones of the suffering caused by worldly attachments.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 May 2026
-
Jill described her husband's suffering in her forthcoming memoir View from the East Wing, which was excerpted in The Atlantic.—
Emma Banks,
InStyle,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
Without those basic elements, governments can end up paralysed by indecision.—
Alexis Akwagyiram,
semafor.com,
23 May 2026
-
And by the time the leader's indecision gets associated with these types of negative outcomes, the leader's reputation is irreparably damaged.—
Mark Murphy,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
She is backed by the local Democratic Socialists of America, and her challengers claim the district has suffered under under her leadership, pointing to MacArthur Park as emblematic of the homelessness and drug addiction crisis plaguing the city.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
24 May 2026
-
The title of his third album, REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE, suggests an MCU movie in which our hero attempts to take on every problem plaguing the planet—and this time, Owusu isn’t giving his adversaries code names.—
Stuart Berman,
Pitchfork,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
The grieving brother at the funeral says the fallen soldier never had time to start his own family.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
26 May 2026
-
The grieving family gathered at the speedway's infield, where NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell paid tribute to the two-time Cup Series champion with a speech.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
25 May 2026
Adjective
-
The table tells a harsher story.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 May 2026
-
The girls’ mother, who traveled to appear in court Thursday with Doe 8, called for a harsh punishment and described how O’Connor, once in Idaho, helped sneak out Doe 8 to see her son, at one point provided them a hotel room.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
What Mary endures throughout Stappard’s debut is unquestionably torturous, but the writer/director never seems to take pleasure in orchestrating her or any other Māori characters’ suffering.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
17 May 2026
-
Many of the children didn’t survive the torturous experimentation, while others developed superpowers.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Agonizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agonizing. Accessed 31 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
