throes
Britishplural noun
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a condition of violent pangs, pain, or convulsions
death throes
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struggling with great effort with
a country in the throes of revolution
Explanation
Did your team just lose the Super Bowl or the World Series? You're probably in the throes of despair — experiencing intense feelings of suffering and agitation. Although we normally associate the throes of some emotion or physical sensation to be an unpleasant state, that's not always the case. Some throes teeter on the borderline between delight and despair. Check out Bernini's sculpture in Rome of St. Theresa in the throes of spiritual ecstasy. Is she terrified or thrilled? Impossible to separate the two. She's in the throes.
Vocabulary lists containing throes
A Spelling Bee for Fun
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 19–24
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "T"
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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.
The show’s fall of Rome arc, “Death Throes of the Republic,” clocks in at 13 hours.
From Slate • Dec. 14, 2014
Barcelona has the biggest wage bill of all European clubs, spending 235 million euros in the 2009/10 season, according to a report by the University of Barcelona entitled "Spanish Football in the Throes of Crisis".
From Reuters • Aug. 12, 2011
Merrily they suck the honey From the flowers which with heavy Throes the Master's mind created; And they spice well their enjoyment With their mutual frequent blunders.
From The Trumpeter of Säkkingen A Song from the Upper Rhine. by Scheffel, Joseph Victor von
Oh, my heart Seems a cavern deep and drear, From whose dark recesses start, Flatteringly like birds of night, Throes of passion, thoughts of fear, Screaming in their flight.
From Continental Monthly, Vol. III, No IV, April 1863 Devoted to Literature and National Policy by Various
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.
