excruciate

verb

ik-ˈskrü-shē-ˌāt How to pronounce excruciate (audio)
Definition of excruciatenext
as in to plague
to cause persistent suffering to she has long been excruciated by an undiagnosed pain in her knee

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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
  1. plague
  2. persecute
  3. afflict
  4. torture
  5. torment
  6. besiege
Verb
  • Gallagher has also sought to tie McGuire to cost-of-living problems plaguing Californians, such as the price of gasoline and housing.
    — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Yet the overall mission is plagued with challenges, including the ongoing fighting, questions over American support and the outcome of the upcoming French elections.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of plague
Verb
  • The Paxton campaign decried the reporting, without denying it, while saying he had been politically persecuted.
    — Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The company named all its weapons after Ukrainian intellectuals and artists killed or persecuted by Russians in the last century.
    — Joanna Kakissis, NPR, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of persecute
Verb
  • The margin was so wide that issues that afflicted Republicans’ electoral chances elsewhere in the country, including high gas prices and the Iran war, didn’t substantially harm Tuberville.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Today, Alzheimer’s afflicts roughly one in nine Americans over sixty-five and, along with related dementias, has been estimated to cost the economy about three-quarters of a trillion dollars a year.
    — Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of afflict
Verb
  • Serhiy, like Zabuzhko, locates his captor’s impulse to torture him in the very pages written by the Russian novelist.
    — Madeleine Wulfahrt, New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The pirate crew is said to have tortured, killed and raped those aboard the royal ship, sparking global outrage and what is considered the first worldwide manhunt.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of torture
Verb
  • Buffalo’s Josh Allen, 30, is no longer the only AFC East quarterback who torments Miami.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The sinister presence torments the family, and when their two-year-old suddenly vanishes, fear spirals into hysteria and paranoia as the family confronts a terrifying force that has turned their connected world against them.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of torment
Verb
  • French cities have been shaken in recent weeks by vandalism and looting sparked by cost-of-living demonstrations, amid a broader crisis besieging the country’s lame-duck centrist government that has spiked French bond yields.
    — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Mehra – director of 2016 pic Baar Baar Dekho and creator of Prime Video series Big Girls Don’t Cry – says that while Indian audiences are besieged by films and TV content right now, where Hunkkaar has cut through is in its subject matter.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of besiege

Browse Nearby Words

excreting
excruciate
excruciated
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Cite this Entry

“Excruciate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excruciate. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

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