EXCRUCIATE Synonyms: 91 Similar and Opposite Words

excruciate

verb

ik-ˈskrü-shē-ˌāt

Definition of excruciate

as in to plague

to cause persistent suffering to she has long been excruciated by an undiagnosed pain in her knee

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of excruciate For example, a person with a hernia who infrequently experiences minor discomfort likely wouldn't be as much of a priority as someone with a hernia that causes excruciating pain every day. — Perry Vandell, azcentral, 25 Apr. 2020 Sometimes their grandchildren are excruciated and appalled by what’s meant to be lightly funny. — Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2020 Exposed, incapacitated, and in excruciating pain, laboring moms rely on other people—doctors, nurses, midwives, doulas, and especially their partners—for help and support. — Minhae Shim Roth, Glamour, 1 Apr. 2020 One poor woman is left in excruciating pain for 24 hours, and Meredith’s ex-boyfriend Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) accuses the relative of a patient of being a human trafficker. — Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, 20 Mar. 2020 See All Example Sentences for excruciate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for excruciate

Verb

Airlines around the world are currently plagued by delays in their efforts to deliver new premium offerings — including increasing passenger demand for privacy, high-tech connectivity and inflight entertainment — to meet the surge in air travel.

— Edward Russell, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026
Klubnik will need to limit the turnovers that plagued him at Clemson during his final season.

— Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of plague

Verb

Although the two programs similarly target humanitarian concerns, being a TPS holder does not guarantee asylum, which requires that applicants prove they’ve been persecuted on specific grounds.

— Cameron Pugh, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Aug. 2026
In The Bacchae, Dionysus becomes violent only because his existence has been denied and his followers persecuted, and his maenads similarly become destructive only when pursued.

— Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 31 July 2026

Definition of persecute

Verb

That means protections for those who have been vaccinated will weaken and wane as the disease afflicts those who haven’t, threatening public health as a whole.

— New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2026
Health advocates consider an official definition of ultraprocessed food a key step toward bringing greater scrutiny to meals that are blamed for multiple chronic health problems afflicting Americans.

— Matthew Perrone, Fortune, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of afflict

Verb

Arabella’s adoptive mother, Leticia McCormack, and her parents, Adella and Stanley Tom, were arrested three months later and accused of torturing the young girl to death.

— Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026
During his tenure, more than a dozen teenagers who scrawled anti-government graffiti on a school wall in Daraa were arrested and tortured.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of torture

Verb

But the film does not explain what ‘hospitality’ has to do with a narrative situation in which the Greeks have been besieging Troy for 10 years already [which Nolan’s movie does not depict]; the Trojans are not their hosts but their enemies in war.

— Zack Sharf, Variety, 5 Aug. 2026
And yet, besieged by the same afflictions of greed, self-interest and a comical inability to work together, horse racing is doing its damndest to similarly mess up its very good thing.

— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of besiege

Browse Nearby Words

excreting

excruciate

excruciated

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“Excruciate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excruciate. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of excruciate

verb

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