1
as in distress
a state of great suffering of body or mind
as a new teacher, she was in real anguish over the decision to report the cheating
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2
as in sorrow
deep sadness especially for the loss of someone or something loved
words can't express my anguish at losing my cat
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1
as in to plague
to cause persistent suffering to
she was anguished by the fear that her sons would die in the war
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2
as in to grieve
to feel deep sadness or mental pain
I anguished over the loss of my father for years afterwards
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of anguish
Kate Sequeira, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2025
How permanent? were questions that Bearden suggested the jury consider to guide the panel’s deliberation on Elijah’s pain and his family’s loss of companionship and mental anguish.
—Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 June 2025
Will Leitch, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025
Watching, Emily grows anguished at her mother’s distraction.
—Russell Shaw, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for anguish
Noun
But the intense anguish some feel at this moment has exacerbated the dilemma.
—Kate Sequeira, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2025
How permanent? were questions that Bearden suggested the jury consider to guide the panel’s deliberation on Elijah’s pain and his family’s loss of companionship and mental anguish.
—Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 June 2025
Verb
And yet, the film has a pretty expert ensemble — Kevin Spacey won the Oscar, but Annette Bening was even more deserving — and Conrad Hall’s photography captures all the shiny surfaces that contrast with the characters’ anguished inner worlds.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025
Watching, Emily grows anguished at her mother’s distraction.
—Russell Shaw, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for anguish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anguish
Noun
-
Buildings continue to fall into economic distress because of government’s housing policies.—
Alva Badillo,
New York Daily News,
29 June 2025
-
In line with these ideas, researchers published findings in 2023 that showed that meditation increased people’s concern for the suffering of others—and that, by comparison, people without this practice were more oriented to their own distress.—
Mariah G. Schug,
Scientific American,
27 June 2025
Noun
-
Not the murder, not the arrival of the addicted sister, but the removal of the boy that has been at the core of so much sorrow and betrayal between the sisters.—
Antonia Blyth,
Deadline,
20 June 2025
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Referencing the push and pull between sorrow and hope, Echakhch transforms water into a metaphor for emotional duality.—
Nel-Olivia Waga,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
Verb
-
Pachuca’s failure plagued Salzburg as well, with the Austrian side needing a boost after things turned for the worse against Real Madrid, only to be denied – despite their social media admin’s best pleas.—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
27 June 2025
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The last few projects have been plagued by delays and massive cost overruns.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
27 June 2025
Verb
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She’s encountered many grieving parents who lost their children to gunfire.—
Tribune News Service,
Twin Cities,
21 June 2025
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Like the notion of never stepping into the same river twice, the protagonist in my own book, upon finally accepting that loving a river is an act of loving an ever-changing, never-graspable flow, is irrevocably changed by that painful experience and yet doesn’t have the staying power to grieve it.—
Siouxzi Connor
June 20,
Literary Hub,
20 June 2025
Noun
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But playing with an already-strained right calf, the Oshkosh, Wis., native stepped awkwardly towards the basket and crumbled to the court in agony when his leg appeared to pop.—
Sean Neumann,
People.com,
24 June 2025
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Finding alternatives that would end this agony would be one of American science’s most important achievements.—
Rachel Fobar,
Vox,
14 May 2025
Noun
-
After the trial and sentencings, a noose of grief tightened around the DuFresne family.—
Mary Jane Gibson,
Rolling Stone,
29 June 2025
-
An unlikely victim Pam has been a grief counselor and a high school dean.—
Laura Trujillo,
USA Today,
27 June 2025
Verb
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With his penchant for menacing models, black-out contact lenses and jutting shoulders, Owens is also a forever torchbearer for different kinds of beauty, and a safe haven for people who feel persecuted for being outside the norm.—
Miles Socha,
Footwear News,
25 June 2025
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The regimes that persecute religious minorities are also the ones that oppress women, LGBTQ people, journalists, and dissidents.—
Nuri Kino,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 June 2025
Verb
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The slides are very comfortable and give my foot enough support to not ache at the end of the day!—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
21 June 2025
-
Niamh has created a world that feels both thrillingly glamorous and emotionally raw, with characters who ache with ambition, desire, and heartbreak.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
18 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Anguish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anguish. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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