anguish
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
anguishes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
anguished,
past participle, past
-
anguishing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
anguishes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
anguished,
past participle, past
-
anguishing
present participle
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
Esperanza Rising
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The Hate U Give
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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:
Sabrina, the owner of a real-estate business, documented his anguish in a TikTok video that has received more than three million likes since August.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
When he turns, we turn, and the anguish that Garfield wordlessly conveys is our compass.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
"Having to pay the person who's actively put you through all of that anguish only for it to happen straight away again."
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Twisting her phone in her hands, Santoshi broke down into tears as she recalled the anguish of not knowing for hours whether her parents had survived.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
I sank on the wet doorstep: I groaned—I wrung my hands—I wept in utter anguish.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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 may be on stage rather than screen, but Lucy Kirkwood’s The Welkin, currently running at the National Theatre, also applies mordant humour to the anguishes and indignities of reproductive life.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 22, 2020
It commences thus: "As to th' Eternall often in anguishes Erst have I called, never unanswered, Againe I call, againe I calling Doubt not againe to receave an answer."
From Notes and Queries, Vol. IV, Number 90, July 19, 1851 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Geneologists, etc. by Various
There are anguished conversations with parents who are desperate for their child to be kept alive, despite doctors saying there is no hope.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
"All of us, including the volunteers and support teams are deeply anguished," the Hindu guru, whose real name is Jagdish Vasudev, added.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
Alas, the results are mixed, betraying the stark limits of this approach and the need for a kind of history that fully integrates anguished medieval chronicles with modern molecular evidence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
With 30-odd years in television, Walker has benefited from, and anguished over, the many changes in the industry, including the increasing number of female producers and executives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
“Will no one stop that man?” an anguished Major Rathbone again pleaded to the crowd below.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
Saying goodbye to them had been the single most anguishing moment of my entire life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
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
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.
