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
There is a lot of agonizingly unsubtle product placement — for AMC theaters, Starry soda, even Paramount itself.
—
Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025
The Americans did rally on Sunday, winning 8 1/2 out of a possible 12 points to come agonizingly close to what would have been the greatest moment in Ryder Cup history.
—Hugh Kellenberger, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
The hiring process, however, is proving to be agonizingly slow, with the first job offers for several dozen electronic technicians, meteorologists and hydrologists either just out the door or soon to go out, depending on the position.
—Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
The pirates forced the survivors to help load the ship with as many ore containers as the ship could carry before sending them back to the ice moon to agonizingly await whatever would be their fate.
—Manuel Muñoz, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025
The Democratic Party has held the governor’s mansion since 1985, including one agonizingly close election that is widely regarded by local Republicans to have been stolen.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 8 Aug. 2025
Many of them leaned into generative AI and LLMs during their schooling, often doing so on their own since the university was either silent on the matter or was agonizingly trying to figure out what role AI should have in the medical education arena.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025
The Americans did rally on Sunday, winning 8 1/2 out of a possible 12 points to come agonizingly close to what would have been the greatest moment in Ryder Cup history.
—Hugh Kellenberger, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
The hiring process, however, is proving to be agonizingly slow, with the first job offers for several dozen electronic technicians, meteorologists and hydrologists either just out the door or soon to go out, depending on the position.
—Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
The pirates forced the survivors to help load the ship with as many ore containers as the ship could carry before sending them back to the ice moon to agonizingly await whatever would be their fate.
—Manuel Muñoz, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025
The Democratic Party has held the governor’s mansion since 1985, including one agonizingly close election that is widely regarded by local Republicans to have been stolen.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 8 Aug. 2025
Many of them leaned into generative AI and LLMs during their schooling, often doing so on their own since the university was either silent on the matter or was agonizingly trying to figure out what role AI should have in the medical education arena.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agonizingly
Adverb
-
The federal government shutdown enters its 21st day – headed toward its fourth week – as Democrats and Republicans remain bitterly divided over how to resolve rising health care costs.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Taylor makes a persuasive case for how artists can grow, if incrementally and maybe bitterly, amid so much numbing digital noise.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Ambiguity fuels risk, and risk, sadly, often fuels the potential for escalation.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Rae sadly died in 2018 after being diagnosed with bone cancer.—
Michele Corriston,
PEOPLE,
2 Nov. 2025
Adverb
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When cases do move forward, justice is often partial and painfully slow, with proceedings stretching on for years and often failing to bring those ultimately responsible to justice.—
Scott Griffen,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Even if inflation was falling, prices were still rising – just more slowly, and from painfully high levels.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
4 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
There’s nobody who works harder than Cristobal.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
3 Nov. 2025
-
And even harder, the task ahead for that leader.—
Stephen J. Nesbitt,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Agonizingly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agonizingly. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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