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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Recent Examples of excruciate
Among other problems the inspection report listed: One resident with a fractured pelvis spent hours in excruciating pain because workers didn’t get the person medications.
—
oregonlive, 24 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
oregonlive, 24 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
-
Lingering odors, discoloration, stains, and bacterial growth are issues that plague older bath towels; snagging a new set will make your bathroom look and smell better.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Kubasik sees this as the first step toward shaking up an industry long plagued by oligopolistic hangovers and kicking off a new wave of dealmaking.—
Rohan Goswami,
semafor.com,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Open Doors is a global Christian charity supporting Christians persecuted for their faith.—
Paul Tilsley,
FOXNews.com,
28 Dec. 2025
-
Most commonly, people felt they were being persecuted via their electronics – that their Wi-Fi networks, computers or cellphones had been hacked or implanted with tracking devices.—
Alaina Vandervoort Burns,
The Conversation,
17 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Surrounding trees, however, were not afflicted.—
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Jan. 2026
-
Support for Bass is more mixed, with her current record containing many more failures than have afflicted either Lurie or any other recent Los Angeles mayor.—
Thomas D. Elias,
Oc Register,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Still, whatever validity there is to his pain, Peter becomes a high priest of hallucination and Coon’s tortured Agnes his disciple.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
9 Jan. 2026
-
In Chechnya, a region in southern Russia with a predominantly Muslim population, authorities launched an open hunt for gay men—police rounded them up and tortured many of them, with some being killed.—
Mikhail Zygar,
Vanity Fair,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
As Amadeus’ brilliance continues to flourish in spite of his personal demons, a questionable reputation and skepticism from the conservative court, Salieri becomes increasingly tormented by this apparent divine gift.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
15 Jan. 2026
-
Kratos is tormented by his past acts, while trying to find his footing as a single father.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The Windy City is suddenly besieged by a string of bomb threats, but in the midst of all the false alarms, a real situation emerges in the form of military-grade smoke grenades, which points to a terrorist threat.—
Will Harris,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Jan. 2026
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Halladay said she’s heard from multiple doctors, including her child’s pediatrician, that they’ve been besieged with calls from parents hoping to get a prescription.—
Tom Bartlett,
The Atlantic,
19 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Excruciate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excruciate. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
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