agonizing

American

[ag-uh-nahy-zing] / ˈæg əˌnaɪ zɪŋ /

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.

Usage

What does agonizing mean? Agonizing means filled with or resulting in agony—extreme pain or suffering, especially the kind that lasts for a long time. A close synonym is excruciating.Agony can be physical or emotional, and things that are agonizing can involve physical or emotional pain. A person who has just broken their leg and a person who has just experienced the death of a loved one could both be said to be in agonizing pain. To suffer an agonizing death is to experience an extremely painful one. An agonizing decision is one that is very hard to make due to being emotionally painful in some way.Agonizing is also the continuous tense (-ing form) of the verb agonize, which can mean to be in agony. However, it most commonly means to put forth a great effort—to struggle or strive, as in She’s been agonizing about what to get you for your birthday. Example: She’s down and appears to be in agonizing pain—the trainers are coming onto the field now to help her.

Other Word Forms

agonizingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of agonizing

First recorded in 1660–70; agonize + -ing ²

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.

Instead what unfolded was an agonizing sequence that shows why Mahomes and the Chiefs are on the brink of missing the playoffs for the first time in his career.

From The Wall Street Journal

The defeat was a second straight for Philadelphia, who were coming off an agonizing loss to NFC East rivals Dallas in which they squandered a 21-0 lead.

From Barron's

In a message on her official X account posted while she was en route to a gathering of world leaders in South Africa, she confessed to agonizing over her wardrobe.

From The Wall Street Journal

The most immediate conclusion is that it might be OK to stop agonizing about skipping that long haul to Dubuque this holiday season.

From The Wall Street Journal

Her expression of intense, agonizing curiosity said the rest, as did the excited way she pranced in place and the soundless giggles that she carefully muffled with her free hand.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023