agonizing

[ ag-uh-nahy-zing ]

/ ˈæg əˌnaɪ zɪŋ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR agonizing ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

accompanied by, filled with, or resulting in agony or distress: We spent an agonizing hour waiting to hear if the accident had been serious or not.

Words nearby agonizing

agonic line, agonist, agonistic, agonize, agonized, agonizing, agony, agony aunt, agony column, agony uncle, agora

Origin of agonizing

First recorded in 1660–70; agonize + -ing²

OTHER WORDS FROM agonizing

ag·o·niz·ing·ly, adverb

Definition for agonizing (2 of 2)

agonize

[ ag-uh-nahyz ]

/ ˈæg əˌnaɪz /

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.

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 agonizing

He makes his way, step by agonizing step, his face red and wheezing, his eyes straight ahead.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What followed was an agonizing spectacle that ended when Lockett died at 7.06 p.m.—43 minutes after the drugs began to flow.
Lethal Injection Leads to the Most Botched Executions|Austin Sarat, Robert Henry Weaver, Heather Richard|April 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It catalogues a massive but doomed police investigation through its agonizing near-misses and mistaken hunches.
A Horror Story of True-Life Anti-Semitism in France|Tracy McNicoll|April 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But it serves no one to perpetuate the idea that parenting is supposed to be an agonizing and thankless slog.
Ad's Message to Moms: If You Don’t Think Parenting Sucks, You’re Doing it Wrong|Andy Hinds|April 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The opposition is afraid of the past because its revered members are culpable for some of the most agonizing memories it evokes.
Bangladesh’s Radical Islamists Get U.S. Backing|Kapil Komireddi|January 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then followed for the less fortunate the long and agonizing march to the seaboard.
Our Foreigners|Samuel P. Orth
With what agonizing suspense they waited could not be described.
In Search of the Castaways|Jules Verne
If asleep, dreams of agonizing forms and ever-varying hues have thronged my fancy and driven away peace.
Jane Talbot|Charles Brockden Brown
Two days of agonizing suspense, of alternate hope and despair, had told heavily on Marguerite Blakeney.
The Elusive Pimpernel|Baroness Emmuska Orczy
The afternoons when the bull-fighter fought in Seville were agonizing for his family as well as for himself.
The Blood of the Arena|Vicente Blasco Ibez

British Dictionary definitions for agonizing

agonize

agonise

/ (ˈæɡəˌnaɪz) /

verb

to suffer or cause to suffer agony

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

Derived forms of agonize

agonizingly 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