1
as in nightmare
a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness
waiting all those hours to hear if he'd survived the plane crash was pure agony
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in distress
a state of great suffering of body or mind
the agony of never knowing what happened to her son
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in explosion
a sudden intense expression of strong feeling
the announcement that the war was over unleashed a mass agony of joy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of agony
Sports rivalries are nothing new to fans and often bring an entirely new level of joy and agony in daily lives.
—
Tj MacIas, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
Mere feet away, separated by brick walls that have seen more than their fair share of agony and ecstasy over the years, the 2025 Red Sox were gearing up to do the same.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 27 Sep. 2025
The agony is still fresh for Katie and Clarke Baker, whose 8-year-old daughter Mary Grace perished in the flooding.
—Holly Yan, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, the camaraderie of being among other adults who left the house in full face paint.
—Alex Apatoff, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for agony
Tj MacIas, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
Mere feet away, separated by brick walls that have seen more than their fair share of agony and ecstasy over the years, the 2025 Red Sox were gearing up to do the same.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 27 Sep. 2025
The agony is still fresh for Katie and Clarke Baker, whose 8-year-old daughter Mary Grace perished in the flooding.
—Holly Yan, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, the camaraderie of being among other adults who left the house in full face paint.
—Alex Apatoff, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for agony
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agony
Noun
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Additionally, his pass-catching is a nightmare in one-on-one man coverage settings, so expect the Bills to try to avoid that as much as possible.—
Joe Buscaglia,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
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Today Shaw feels empowered to tell her side of the nightmare.—
Johnny Dodd,
PEOPLE,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Because of that, diabetes distress has been linked to other serious mental health issues.—
Lauren J. Young,
Scientific American,
14 Oct. 2025
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Family members of the victims filed defamation and emotional distress lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas, where Jones’ Infowars talk show is based.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The Washington Post had reported that residents had grown accustomed to explosions from his stunts and videos and his larger-than-life presence.—
Chris Quintana,
USA Today,
12 Oct. 2025
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An Associated Press reporter in Chaman heard jets over Spin Boldak, a city in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province, and saw smoke rising after an explosion.—
NPR,
NPR,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
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These sequences feel so siloed off that the misery never informs the majesty, and vice versa.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
11 Oct. 2025
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That would be a fine enough place to end the story, and in Garrett’s original screenplay, the final pages only extended that misery.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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That pivot is in Alex’s sudden move toward becoming an amateur stand-up comic, using the stage and the microphone as therapy platforms for his anguish.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
10 Oct. 2025
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Nothing has surfaced to document her anguish.—
Jane Kamensky,
The Atlantic,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Switching gears to summer, easy pieces from swimwear to shirtdresses came in an array of color bursts, and played with prints.—
Rhonda Richford,
Footwear News,
10 Oct. 2025
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Super Heavy alone is powered by 33 of SpaceX’s Raptor engines that give the initial burst of thrust at liftoff.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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An accomplished drummer and guitarist, Becker has dedicated his adult life to issues of international human rights and social justice, documenting war crimes in Lebanon, genocide in Rwanda, and the torture of the indigenous people of India.—
Eric Adler,
Kansas City Star,
9 Oct. 2025
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The Socialist Party building at Londres 38, in the heart of Santiago, was acquired and turned into a secret interrogation and torture centre, known as the Yucatán Barracks.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Vacherot dragged his opponent into the backhand corner, taking advantage of the pain that moving there would cause Djokovic, and then hitting into the open space on Djokovic’s forehand side.—
James Hansen,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
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Researchers were more likely to find hemorrhoids because participants underwent a screening colonoscopy instead of going to the doctor’s after reporting pain or bleeding.—
Adrianna Rodriguez,
USA Today,
11 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Agony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agony. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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