agony
Americannoun
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agonies
plural
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extreme and generally prolonged pain; intense physical or mental suffering.
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a display or outburst of intense mental or emotional excitement.
an agony of joy.
- Synonyms:
- paroxysm
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the struggle preceding natural death.
mortal agony.
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a violent struggle.
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Theology. Often Agony the sufferings of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane.
noun
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acute physical or mental pain; anguish
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the suffering or struggle preceding death
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informal to exaggerate one's distress for sympathy or greater effect
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(modifier) relating to or advising on personal problems about which people have written to the media
agony column
agony writer
Usage
What does agony mean? Agony is extreme pain or suffering, especially the kind that lasts for a long time. The word anguish is a close synonym. Agony can be physical or emotional. 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 agony—in a state of extreme pain or suffering. However, agony is perhaps more commonly used in the context of emotional pain (in which case it often likens such suffering to intense physical pain). The verb agonize can mean to be in agony, but 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. The adjective agonizing means filled with or resulting in agony, as in agonizing pain. Agony also has a few other meanings that are much less common. It can mean an outburst of intense emotional excitement, even a positive one, as in an agony of joy. It can also mean an intense or violent struggle, as in He was in an agony of indecision. More specifically, it can refer to the struggle or suffering that precedes death. Example: I hope you’ll never have to experience the sheer agony of losing a child.
Synonym Usage
See pain.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of agony
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English agonye (from Anglo-French ), from Late Latin agōnia, from Greek, equivalent to agṓn “struggle” + -ia noun suffix: see agon, -y 3
Explanation
The noun agony means acute pain — either mental or physical, but people often use the word hyperbolically: "This paper cut is agony." The noun agony is also used in the common phrase "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat," which has been the tag-line of ABC's Wide World of Sports for decades. The catchphrase, in turn, is often rendered as a pun: "He fell of the ladder and broke his foot. He writhed in agony from the pain, but the physical pain, was nothing compared to his mental agony when the doctor setting the bone joked, 'Now you know the agony of de feet!'"
Vocabulary lists containing agony
Hatchet
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Boy: Tales of Childhood
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"Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad," Vocabulary from the biography
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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.
See Examples For:
Marking six months since her mother’s disappearance, Savannah Guthrie shared an emotional public appeal, calling the anniversary “an agony beyond words” and urging anyone with information to help investigators.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
"Living like this is agony," said Meyboll Font, a 51-year-old self-employed social media community manager.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
Even in that near-suicidal early segment, note how Knoxville stays on his feet, enduring agony with a magician’s “Ta-da!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
"We are missing her. We are going through agony."
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
It had been a look nothing short of agony, a look of unfathomable pain.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
“Funny how something can hurt that’s no longer there,” remarks a child named Alma, referring to agonies associated with an amputated leg in the intense German drama “Sound of Falling.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
“It’s this tight knot of agonies, and humiliations, and social problems, and this is experienced by millions of us in the richest country in the history of the world.”
From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2025
As in Park’s Pynchon-style satire and Angie Kim’s affecting “Happiness Falls,” “Flashlight” explores the collective experiences of Korean Americans, agonies closeted away, the rage that screams inside.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2025
The agonies at Westminster over holding a vote can look like an example of MPs' focusing on their own neighbourhood at the expense of the bigger picture.
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2024
She confused being sick with being brave, and suffered agonies while imagining she merited praise for it.
From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart
Definitions 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.
