Synonyms of agonizing

agonizing 1 of 3

adjective

ˈa-gə-ˌnī-ziŋ 

1

as in painful

hard to accept or bear especially emotionally

agonizing cries rose up from the dungeon

Synonyms & Similar Words

• painful
• harsh
• torturous
• cruel
• excruciating
• harrowing
• horrible
• bitter
• terrible
• hurtful
• severe
• grievous
• galling
• tormenting
• awful
• unbearable
• unacceptable
• heartrending
• dreadful
• afflicting
• unendurable
• intolerable
• insufferable
• miserable
• bad
• intense
• appalling
• dire
• insupportable
• acute
• ghastly
• extreme
• vile
• wretched
• nasty
• unsupportable
• rotten
• piercing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• gratifying
• sweet
• pleasing
• bearable
• tolerable
• endurable
• sustainable
• supportable
• survivable
• acceptable
• reasonable
• livable
• allowable
• sufferable

2

as in wrenching

intensely or unbearably painful

died an agonizing death

Synonyms & Similar Words

• wrenching
• torturous
• excruciating
• torturing
• intense
• harrowing
• raging
• tormenting
• violent
• racking
• extreme
• biting
• acute
• exquisite
• fierce
• stabbing
• vehement
• tearing
• penetrating
• stinging
• shooting
• piercing
• sharp
• cutting
• tingling
• smarting

agonizing

2 of 3

noun

1

as in suffering

Related Words

• suffering
• weeping
• mourning
• tears
• grieving
• sob
• sorrowing
• regret
• hand-wringing
• lamentation
• cry
• protest
• groan
• anguish
• outcry
• sorrow
• lament
• grief
• wail
• heartache
• heartbreak
• howl
• keen
• moan
• woe
• plaint
• complaint
• cri de coeur
• dolor

Dissimilar Words

• rejoicing
• exultation
• smiling
• laughing
• cheering

2

as in indecision

Related Words

• indecision
• hesitation
• introspection
• contemplation
• meditation
• deliberation
• consideration
• rumination
• cogitation
• thought
• pondering
• debate
• reflection
• study
• premeditation
• advisement
• account

Dissimilar Words

• neglect
• disregard
• short shrift

agonizing

3 of 3

verb

present participle of agonize

1

as in plaguing

to cause persistent suffering to

got into more trouble, further agonizing her poor mother

Synonyms & Similar Words

• plaguing
• persecuting
• afflicting
• torturing
• excruciating
• anguishing
• harrowing
• tormenting
• besieging
• cursing
• attacking
• bothering
• troubling
• stinging
• racking
• bedeviling
• besetting
• aggravating
• disturbing
• distressing
• exasperating
• pursuing
• striking
• irritating
• annoying
• overwhelming
• worrying
• grieving
• harassing
• discomforting
• badgering
• disquieting
• assailing
• upsetting
• vexing
• trying
• hounding
• riding
• griping
• pestering
• dogging
• nettling
• hurting
• stressing
• agitating
• perturbing
• harrying
• chafing
• galling
• stabbing
• bugging
• oppressing
• irking
• grating
• crushing
• rasping
• straining
• molesting
• smarting
• riling
• overpowering
• victimizing
• tyrannizing
• smiting
• flustering
• putting out
• paining
• pricking
• wringing
• piquing
• discomposing
• getting
• peeving
• hagriding
• panging
• martyring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• assisting
• helping
• aiding
• relieving
• abetting
• delivering
• releasing
• comforting
• soothing
• consoling
• quieting
• contenting
• reprieving
• solacing
• succoring

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

• grieving
• aching
• mourning
• sighing
• suffering
• sorrowing
• anguishing
• crying
• sobbing
• bleeding
• weeping
• hurting
• groaning
• tormenting
• smarting
• eating one's heart out
• tearing one's hair
• moaning
• torturing
• longing (for)
• pining (away)
• bewailing
• lamenting
• blubbering
• howling
• yammering
• racking
• deploring
• languishing
• bemoaning
• regretting
• bawling
• wailing
• ruing
• keening
• yowling
• taking on

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• laughing
• cheering
• rejoicing
• exulting
• ravishing
• beaming
• delighting
• glorying
• triumphing
• crowing
• comforting
• reassuring
• consoling
• soothing
• assuring
• sympathizing
• joying
• commiserating
• solacing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of agonizing

Adjective

Inside, under flickering lights, a group of reluctant strangers is coaxed into acting out, in a converted gymnasium, a wild tale promising redemption from agonizing tragedy. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026

Two yearshave passed since then, and the country has faced agonizing struggles to achieve recovery andfinally return to normalcy. — Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 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

To accept that there will always be creatures teeming nearby, some of them agonizing, expelled from their days. — María Ospina, The Dial, 31 Mar. 2026

The parents who keep looking for him, agonizing over his health. — Connor Letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Mar. 2026