agonize

[ ag-uh-nahyz ]

/ ˈæg əˌnaɪz /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR agonize ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), ag·o·nized, ag·o·niz·ing.

to suffer extreme pain or anguish; be in agony.

to put forth great effort of any kind.

verb (used with object), ag·o·nized, ag·o·niz·ing.

to distress with extreme pain; torture.

Nearby words

Also especially British, ag·o·nise.

Origin of agonize

1575–85; < Medieval Latin agōnizāre < Greek agōnízesthai to struggle (for a prize), equivalent to agōn- agon + -izesthai -ize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for agonize

The key is how much we can brood, and what is meant by brooding—is it to daydream, or is it to agonize over every detail?
‘True Detective,’ Obsessive-Compulsive Noir, and ‘Twin Peaks’|Jimmy So|March 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The revenge factor would have been an added bonus, but really, what I wanted was for people to agonize over why I'd done it.
I Was Adam Lanza, Part 3|David Frum|December 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Parents stood up to agonize about their responsibility, as cosigners, for the loans of their now unemployed offspring.
NYU Professor: Are Student Loans Immoral?|Andrew Ross|September 27, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I might agonize in words for a day and I should not express the delight.
Wilfrid Cumbermede|George MacDonald

Then let him suffer, let him agonize; let him, if possible, break and go to that Hell that is the abode of broken resolves.
The Good Soldier|Ford Madox Ford
To agonize and struggle in a bad condition is like struggling in quicksand, you get in deeper.
Supreme Personality|Delmer Eugene Croft
Then, why agonize, why allow himself to be riven and tormented by longings and fears that seemed born out of something eternal?
In the Wilderness|Robert Hichens
To that extent we, as much as he, are to blame for his crime and we must never cease to agonize for him and for such as he.
Under the Law|Edwina Stanton Babcock

British Dictionary definitions for agonize

agonize

agonise

/ (ˈæɡəˌnaɪz) /

verb

to suffer or cause to suffer agony

(intr) to make a desperate effort; struggle; strive

Derived Formsagonizingly or agonisingly, adverb

Word Origin for agonize

C16: via Medieval Latin from Greek agōnizesthai to contend for a prize, from agōn agon

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for agonize

agonize

1580s, "to torture," from Middle French agoniser or directly from Medieval Latin agonizare, from Greek agonizesthai "to contend in the struggle" (see agony). Intransitive sense of "to suffer physical pain" is recorded from 1660s. That of "to worry intensely" is from 1853. Related: Agonized; agonizing.