as in bitterly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
agonizingly made the decision to have her beloved cat put to sleep
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Recent Examples of agonizingly
The crowd turned electric, belting nearly every agonizingly confessional lyric.
—
Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 5 Mar. 2026
The Sailors, who were making their first appearance in a Southern Section final, had numerous scoring opportunities and came agonizingly close to scoring several times.
—Lou Ponsi, Oc Register, 1 Mar. 2026
The Americans came agonizingly close to winning that game.
—Becky Sullivan, NPR, 18 Feb. 2026
New-fangled computers were actually, at times, producing too much information, generating agonizingly detailed reports and printing them on reams of paper.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 17 Feb. 2026
California is infamous for its unfriendly business climate, with byzantine regulations and an agonizingly slow permitting system.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2026
An agonizingly minuscule miss that can change the entire complexion of a game.
—Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 3 Feb. 2026
At long last, with his skinned companions still agonizingly clinging to life beside him, the Jimmies' final victim, Tom (Louis Ashbourne Serkis), is offered an out.
—Megan McCluskey, Time, 16 Jan. 2026
Ole Miss comes up agonizingly short in what may be the strangest season of the modern era.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026
Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 5 Mar. 2026
The Sailors, who were making their first appearance in a Southern Section final, had numerous scoring opportunities and came agonizingly close to scoring several times.
—Lou Ponsi, Oc Register, 1 Mar. 2026
The Americans came agonizingly close to winning that game.
—Becky Sullivan, NPR, 18 Feb. 2026
New-fangled computers were actually, at times, producing too much information, generating agonizingly detailed reports and printing them on reams of paper.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 17 Feb. 2026
California is infamous for its unfriendly business climate, with byzantine regulations and an agonizingly slow permitting system.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2026
An agonizingly minuscule miss that can change the entire complexion of a game.
—Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 3 Feb. 2026
At long last, with his skinned companions still agonizingly clinging to life beside him, the Jimmies' final victim, Tom (Louis Ashbourne Serkis), is offered an out.
—Megan McCluskey, Time, 16 Jan. 2026
Ole Miss comes up agonizingly short in what may be the strangest season of the modern era.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agonizingly
Adverb
-
The play unfolds as a series of battles, where the unaccomplished George and the bitterly disappointed Martha exchange vicious and demeaning insults, using Nick and Honey as the unsuspecting pawns in their war for supremacy.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
-
East Coast finally welcomes the warmth The East Coast is finally seeing some warm weather after a bitterly cold winter.—
Kathryn Prociv,
NBC news,
9 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Western civilization has created incredible innovation and achievements, while sadly slavery and colonialism will always be a part of history.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Short term, the answer is, sadly, yes.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
8 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
The hug is so painfully welcome.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Progress has been painfully slow, stalled by gaps in technical knowledge, cost overruns and the extreme caution required to deal with an unprecedented accident of such magnitude.—
Yusuke Maekawa,
Bloomberg,
8 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.—
Madhuri Vijay,
New Yorker,
16 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
Dallas Lincoln's Jada Patterson (24) drives hard to the basket during first quarter action against Fredericksburg.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Sustaining success is assuredly much harder.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
For their part, Democratic leaders spoke mournfully of limits, of energy shortages, of national decline, of a crisis of confidence itself.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
-
Based on the Dylan Thomas prose poem of the same name, published in 1952, the film lovingly and mournfully depicts the boyhood Christmastime of an old Welshman, tenderly and a tad mischievously embodied by Elliott.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
21 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Agonizingly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agonizingly. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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