agony

[ag-uh-nee]

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noun, plural ag·o·nies.

extreme and generally prolonged pain; intense physical or mental suffering.

a display or outburst of intense mental or emotional excitement: an agony of joy.

the struggle preceding natural death: mortal agony.

a violent struggle.

(often initial capital letter) Theology. the sufferings of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane.

Origin of agony

1350–1400; Middle English agonye (< Anglo-French) < Late Latin agōnia < Greek, equivalent to agṓn agon + -ia -y³

Synonyms for agony

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1. anguish, torment, torture. 2. paroxysm.

Synonym study

1. See pain.

Antonyms for agony

1. comfort, ease, pleasure.

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

Related Words for agony

torture, torment, misery, woe, passion, anguish, dolor, distress, affliction, throes

Examples from the Web for agony

Contemporary Examples of agony

Truth be told, there is no one better at capturing the agony and alarm of a woman in the throes of a nervous breakdown than Moore.
Julianne Moore Is Oscar Gold in ‘Still Alice’
Marlow Stern
December 24, 2014
The agony of being so close to our goal but failing gnaws at our insides while we replay the events over and over in our heads.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley
Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman
November 15, 2014
Animals in agony or danger are used by Martin Wittfooth, often to hint at the future of the human condition.
Trading Dime Bags for Salvador Dali
Jason McGahan
October 19, 2014
Murray lost 6-1 7-6, 6-2 as Kate and William grimaced and groaned in agony with the rest of the nation.
Murray Crashes Out Of Wimbledon As Kate And William Watch
Tom Sykes
July 2, 2014
Epic heroes, doom-struck warriors, the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.
Was Aaron Harrison’s Game-Winning Three-Pointer ‘Clutch’?
Robert Silverman
April 7, 2014

Historical Examples of agony

With parched throats, gasping for breath, they lay back in agony.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
He awaited, in an agony of suspense, the rattle of the musketry.
The Old Manse (From "Mosses From An Old Manse")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
And she had died in agony, so that she, Harriett, might keep her hundred pounds.
Life and Death of Harriett Frean
May Sinclair
Agony by agony, something is gained, and my personal agony counts with the rest.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
"Hear me," he went on, in an agony of entreaty mingled with something like anger.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald

British Dictionary definitions for agony

agony

noun plural -nies

acute physical or mental pain; anguish

the suffering or struggle preceding death

pile on the agony, put on the agony or turn on the agony British informal to exaggerate one's distress for sympathy or greater effect

(modifier) relating to or advising on personal problems about which people have written to the mediaagony column; agony writer

Word Origin for agony

C14: via Late Latin from Greek agōnia struggle, from agōn contest

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 agony

late 14c., "mental suffering" (especially that of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane), from Old French agonie, agoine "anguish, terror, death agony" (14c.), and directly from Late Latin agonia, from Greek agonia "a (mental) struggle for victory," originally "a struggle for victory in the games," from agon "assembly for a contest," from agein "to lead" (see act (n.)). Sense of "extreme bodily suffering" first recorded c.1600.