as in fires
a test of faith, patience, or strength
the hikers were finally rescued after a three-day ordeal in the wilderness
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Recent Examples of ordeals
The medical ordeals are traumatic and disgusting, but fascinating and full of the quirks of modern life.
—
Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 8 Jan. 2026
Both women survived, but are still reeling from ordeals that have drawn national attention — in part, because they were captured on video and shared on social media.
—CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025
On Instagram, and even on her reality show, Kardashian comes across as thrillingly impervious, wearing impassivity like body armor and putting her body and face through Olympian ordeals to draw our collective gaze.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 8 Nov. 2025
In today’s housing market, even the lucky ones often face exhausting ordeals and need to stretch their budgets to land a home.
—Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2025
Kruse and Fialko invested seven figures into rebuilding Priscilla’s brand, stabilizing her finances, settling her lawsuits, cleaning up numerous private family ordeals, and attempting to help Priscilla repair her relationship with her daughter.
—Michaela Zee, Variety, 13 Aug. 2025
Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 8 Jan. 2026
Both women survived, but are still reeling from ordeals that have drawn national attention — in part, because they were captured on video and shared on social media.
—CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025
On Instagram, and even on her reality show, Kardashian comes across as thrillingly impervious, wearing impassivity like body armor and putting her body and face through Olympian ordeals to draw our collective gaze.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 8 Nov. 2025
In today’s housing market, even the lucky ones often face exhausting ordeals and need to stretch their budgets to land a home.
—Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2025
Kruse and Fialko invested seven figures into rebuilding Priscilla’s brand, stabilizing her finances, settling her lawsuits, cleaning up numerous private family ordeals, and attempting to help Priscilla repair her relationship with her daughter.
—Michaela Zee, Variety, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ordeals
Noun
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In southern Argentina, the fires first ignited by lightning forced the evacuation of thousands of tourists and residents and burned through over 174 square miles of native forest, including vast swaths of the Los Alerces National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site home to 2,600-year-old trees.—
Isabel Debre,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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Design Making a Difference, partnering with Habitat for Humanity and the Foothill Catalog Foundation, to help rebuild homes lost in the fires.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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However, according to Sounwave, Lamar’s chief producer and longtime friend, GNX was in the works long before any gauntlets were thrown.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
30 Dec. 2025
-
However, according to Sounwave, Lamar’s chief producer and longtime friend, GNX was in the works long before any gauntlets were thrown.—
Preezy Brown,
Rolling Stone,
15 Dec. 2025
Noun
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This case bears close similarities to the trials of James and Jennifer Crumbley, whose then-15-year-old son killed four students in 2021 at his high school in Oxford, Michigan.—
Eric Levenson,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
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In August, a Pennsylvania judge threw out Vedam’s murder conviction in the 1980 death of a college friend, based on ballistics evidence that prosecutors hadn’t disclosed during his two trials.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ordeals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ordeals. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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