anguish
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
Synonym Usage
See pain.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
anguishsimple
-
anguishessimple
-
have anguishedperfect
-
has anguishedperfect
-
am anguishingprogressive
-
are anguishingprogressive
-
is anguishingprogressive
-
have been anguishingperfect progressive
-
has been anguishingperfect progressive
Past
-
anguishedsimple
-
had anguishedperfect
-
was anguishingprogressive
-
were anguishingprogressive
-
had been anguishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of anguish
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English anguisse, from Old French, from Latin angustia “tight place,” from angust(us) “narrow” + -ia -ia; cf. anxious
Explanation
The noun anguish refers to severe physical or emotional pain or distress. A trip to the dentist might cause a cavity-prone person a lot of anguish. We get this word from a Latin word, angustus, which literally meant "narrow" but developed the figurative sense of "distressed" — think of being choked off or forced into a small space. In modern times anguish has been in the English with the parallel and related meanings of "physical torment" and "emotional suffering." Both kinds might be experienced at the hands of a dentist who likes to make his patients squirm in agony.
Vocabulary lists containing anguish
The Hate U Give
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Esperanza Rising
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"Of Mice and Men"
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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.
See Examples For:
Man’s eternal anguish about understanding his gods’ desires provides a solemn core.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Another user, who said they had spent more than two years with their AI companion, expressed similar anguish.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
As she’s gotten older, the Oscar winner has become more comfortable doing less in her performances, allowing for a fragile serenity that is belied by the anguish and anxiety roiling underneath.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado wrote on X: "My heart, my infinite embrace, and my prayers are with every Venezuelan home in these hours of anguish."
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
Fury and anguish filled him, unbearable, unanswerable; his mind was stretched to breaking.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
There are few things Americans agree on these days, but one is a shared delight in the anguishes of the Durham, N.C., basketball behemoth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
If the status quo triumphs, his enemies will have to find a new scapegoat for the anguishes of a divided city in the throes of reinvention.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2022
Kendall never asks this question outright — she takes it as a given and anguishes “when the people who are supposed to be your allies on one axis are your oppressors on another.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 8, 2020
It ends with Chris Mason Johnson’s “Test,” whose main character, a young male dancer in 1985 San Francisco, anguishes about whether to be tested for H.I.V.
From New York Times ● Aug. 30, 2013
Civilization has augmented the mental anguishes, and pleasures of love, and when civilization is in excess it certainly distorts and perverts the whole passion.
From Man and Maid by Glyn, Elinor
There were anguished gasps from the crowd as Gauff, in total control of the point, snatched at a drop shot and sent it sinking into the net.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
That kind of anguished, not-funny witticism is another commonplace of the American educated classes: OMG, what has happened to this country?
From Salon ● May 31, 2026
In Marlaine Delargy’s translation from the Swedish, “Mount Verity” confronts these anguished contradictions with disarming frankness and calm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
"Come and help me! I'm on the front line in Ukraine, I'm fighting for Russia," he begged Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema in an anguished voice message sent to his parents.
From Barron's ● Apr. 13, 2026
He looked at her, and his anguished eyes softened.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
Emerson recalled an occasion when he was forced to sit in silence for a long time during a session, which he found anguishing.
From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2025
In the midst of an anguishing public health failure, some researchers are questioning the very way we determine who is at risk of suicide.
From Slate ● May 20, 2024
Experts say it's not just the hostage families who are trapped in an anguishing wait.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2024
In Ukraine, the terminology has become even more anguishing, for war has come to a theater.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 17, 2022
I barely knew him, and yet, somehow, not knowing when I would see him again after tonight was anguishing.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
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.
