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
Others have also turned their personal ordeals into stories of inspiration.
—
Brian Steinberg, Variety, 3 Apr. 2026
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
Brian Steinberg, Variety, 3 Apr. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ordeals
Noun
-
An Amazon package arrived at my door a few days after the Eaton and Palisades fires ignited.—
Abigail Stone,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Previously, small fires had often escalated due to increasingly difficult-to-predict weather conditions.—
Paige Bruton,
semafor.com,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Post-punk bands face few gauntlets as arduous as the slow song, and Landowner challenge themselves to traverse three of them.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Those odds proved to be correct, as One Battle and Sinners added the final jewels to their respective gauntlets en route to this Sunday’s Academy Awards.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Same sentences for all The fates of the detainees are now being decided in mass trials, with anonymous judges handing down one-size-fit-all punishments to large groups of defendants following the proceedings via video-link from prison.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The effort builds on earlier trials conducted by the French and German air forces, including drone-release testing and aerodynamic studies.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ordeals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ordeals. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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