- present participle of agonize.
agonizing
Americanadjective
Usage
What does agonizing mean? Agonizing means filled with or resulting in agony—extreme pain or suffering, especially the kind that lasts for a long time. A close synonym is excruciating. Agony can be physical or emotional, and things that are agonizing can involve physical or emotional pain. A person who has just broken their leg and a person who has just experienced the death of a loved one could both be said to be in agonizing pain. To suffer an agonizing death is to experience an extremely painful one. An agonizing decision is one that is very hard to make due to being emotionally painful in some way. Agonizing is also the continuous tense (-ing form) of the verb agonize, which can mean to be in agony. However, it most commonly means to put forth a great effort—to struggle or strive, as in She’s been agonizing about what to get you for your birthday. Example: She’s down and appears to be in agonizing pain—the trainers are coming onto the field now to help her.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of agonizing
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“It was agonizing and just felt to learn this is beyond me,” Mandell told The Times in 2007.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
Among them are white male entitlement versus the crushing demands of Black exceptionalism; the complicated bond linking fathers to sons; and the agonizing bravery required of mothers raising boys the world is conditioned to ostracize.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
Collins stood outside for several agonizing minutes, hearing their muffled voices.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
The story of Fuller’s death in a shipwreck within sight of Fire Island, N.Y., is agonizing to read.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
There are several agonizing seconds of Daddy and King staring each other down.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
