agonizing

American  

[ag-uh-nahy-zing] / ˈæg əˌnaɪ zɪŋ /

adjective

1. 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.

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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

The shrieking of its breath rose, piercing, agonizing, reverberating across the hill.

From Literature

The boot-up sequence of our test car’s touch screen required several agonizing seconds to execute.

From The Wall Street Journal

The least agonizing wait in sports is nearly over.

From The Wall Street Journal

Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz slotted the winning field goal in overtime as the Buffalo Bills' latest bid to capture their first ever Super Bowl ended in an agonizing 33-30 playoff defeat on Saturday.

From Barron's

Ignoring the sudden, agonizing pain in her knee, she pushed herself to her feet.

From Literature

Related Words

• excruciating
• harrowing
• intense
• tortuous