anguish

[ ang-gwish ]
See synonyms for: anguishanguishedanguishing on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. excruciating or acute distress, suffering, or pain: the anguish of grief.

verb (used with object)
  1. to inflict with distress, suffering, or pain.

verb (used without object)
  1. to suffer, feel, or exhibit anguish: to anguish over the loss of a loved one.

Origin of anguish

1
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English anguisse, from Old French, from Latin angustia “tight place,” from angust(us) “narrow” + -ia -ia; cf. anxious

synonym study For anguish

1. See pain.

Other words for anguish

Opposites for anguish

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use anguish in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for anguish

anguish

/ (ˈæŋɡwɪʃ) /


noun
  1. extreme pain or misery; mental or physical torture; agony

verb
  1. to afflict or be afflicted with anguish

Origin of anguish

1
C13: from Old French angoisse a strangling, from Latin angustia narrowness, from angustus narrow

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