View synonyms for ordeal

ordeal

[ awr-deel, -dee-uhl, awr-deel ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

any extremely severe or trying test, experience, or trial.
a primitive form of trial to determine guilt or innocence by subjecting the accused person to fire, poison, or other serious danger, the result being regarded as a divine or preternatural judgment.

ordeal

/ ɔːˈdiːl /

a severe or trying experience
history a method of trial in which the guilt or innocence of an accused person was determined by subjecting him to physical danger, esp by fire or water. The outcome was regarded as an indication of divine judgment

Origin of ordeal¹

before 950; Middle English ordal, Old English ordāl; cognate with Dutch oordeel, German Urteil. See a- ³, dole ¹

Origin of ordeal¹

Old English ordāl, ordēl; related to Old Frisian ordēl, Old High German urteili (German Urteil ) verdict. See deal ¹, dole ¹

This is a new version of Catman, his past is yet to be told, but an ordeal made him not just badass, but flawed, deeply flawed.

Every visit to a hospital is an ordeal but for those who cannot pay for private care the experience is a horror show.

At no time during his ordeal was Turing able to publicly reveal the far greater secret that had framed his life since 1940.

Yet the entire ordeal opened up so many new possibilities, both for Dr. Grenci and those who followed her case.

“The whole ordeal gave me a thicker skin,” she said, reflecting on the incident.

So she did ask, though it was a great ordeal to make up her mind to do it; and they gave my mother a thousand francs.

They will try to compel you to confession; and, though you are blameless, you will suffer the cruelest ordeal of transgression.

But today—after that terrible ordeal, she felt as if life held little for her, that she was now unfit to perform any womanly duty.

It seems that there must have been some supernatural power of support to have sustained children under so awful an ordeal.

More than once she resolved to tell her father her true feelings, but shrank from the ordeal.

April 18, 2024petrichor

[pet-ri-kawr]

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

Browse