agonize
Americanverb (used without object)
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to suffer extreme pain or anguish; be in agony.
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to put forth great effort of any kind.
verb (used with object)
verb
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to suffer or cause to suffer agony
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(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
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have been agonizingperfect progressive
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has been agonizingperfect progressive
Past
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agonizedsimple
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had agonizedperfect
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was agonizingprogressive
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were agonizingprogressive
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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.
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
While residents agonize over FEMA’s decision, the experiences have led many to ultimately agree with FEMA’s reasoning: They cannot trust that the owners intend to preserve their park as affordable housing.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 13, 2025
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
“Tonight. Isn’t it great? You won’t have to agonize through another whole day.”
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
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.
