agonize
Americanverb (used without object)
-
agonizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
agonized,
past participle, past
-
agonizing
present participle
-
to suffer extreme pain or anguish; be in agony.
-
to put forth great effort of any kind.
verb (used with object)
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agonizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
agonized,
past participle, past
-
agonizing
present participle
verb
-
to suffer or cause to suffer agony
-
(intr) to make a desperate effort; struggle; strive
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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agonizesimple
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agonizessimple
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have agonizedperfect
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has agonizedperfect
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am agonizingprogressive
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are agonizingprogressive
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is agonizingprogressive
-
have been agonizingperfect progressive
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has been agonizingperfect progressive
Past
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agonizedsimple
-
had agonizedperfect
-
was agonizingprogressive
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were agonizingprogressive
-
had been agonizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of agonize
1575–85; < Medieval Latin agōnizāre < Greek agōnízesthai to struggle (for a prize), equivalent to agōn- agon + -izesthai -ize
Explanation
When you worry excessively about something, you agonize about it. The mother of a teenage boy might agonize over his safety when he first learns to drive. Agonize can mean to suffer true pain, but it's generally a mental type of anguish. A student might agonize over what to wear the first day of school, and a boss might agonize about how to break the bad news about layoffs to her employees. The earliest meaning of agonize was "to torture," though now it means something closer to "to torture one's self." The Greek root is a grand one: agonizesthai, "to contend in the struggle."
Vocabulary lists containing agonize
The Diary of Anne Frank
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Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
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An American Plague
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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:
“So you can agonize over that. I wouldn’t dare say which one.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
This way, we wouldn’t have to agonize over every ride and could even hop aboard to cross the Grand Canal without having to walk to the nearest bridge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Refusing even a hint of introspection, she added: “We don’t agonize over what happened. We organize about what comes next.”
From Slate ● Nov. 15, 2024
When they wed, their fans swoon; when stars divorce, people agonize over what went wrong.
From Salon ● Jan. 5, 2024
Isn’t that why parents agonize over the right neighborhood, the right school, the right circle of friends?
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
In 1415, on the eve of challenging France at the Battle of Agincourt, he agonizes about the moral burdens of kingship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
She agonizes over the loss of her relationship with Mimi, perhaps the love of her life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2024
He agonizes over the decisions he made: Could he have saved more people?
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 14, 2023
When semaglutide agonizes these receptors, it tells the body to make more insulin.
From Salon ● Nov. 12, 2022
While he agonizes over song choice, I watch the K-pop videos playing on the television.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
Do I even have a future? she agonized on loop.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
Faisuris Alvarez, who runs a beachside fish stand, agonized aloud over these questions without answers.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
Then the singers froze in place, the lighting changed, and the screaming orchestra and Ms. Loera’s projections of Blanche’s agonized face told the rest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
All week I’d agonized about what movie would be my emotionally laden farewell salute.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026
So Desdemona agonized, unable to sleep at night as the new baby grew inside her.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Collins stood outside for several agonizing minutes, hearing their muffled voices.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Pessina and her siblings began an agonizing search.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
I was agonizing over whether to claim at 62 or wait until 70.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
In his third season with the Dodgers, rising star Andy Pages navigates the agonizing reality of being separated from his parents and sister as U.S.-Cuba relations face new flashpoints.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
So while everybody else was writing whatever the day’s journal was supposed to be, I was agonizing over the details of this math problem.
From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick
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.
