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:
But Nolan puts the anguish of the war at the center of his movie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Man’s eternal anguish about understanding his gods’ desires provides a solemn core.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Her anguish is shared outside morgues as well as in hospitals, where photos of missing persons are plastered on walls and utility poles, written on handwritten pieces of paper.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
Others described the anguish of identifying bodies recovered from remote areas.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
He watched her free, his heart swollen with love for her and with an anguish, not yet his own, that he did not understand and that frightened him.
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 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
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
"At least that's my take on it. He looks as if he's kind of a bit anguished about having to make this oath."
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 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
Despite the solemn themes of his songs, Kahan avoids self-seriousness by regularly poking fun at his own lyrics, partially camouflaging anguished music behind comedic patter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 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 turned his anguished eyes to the road, his words flowing almost too fast for me to understand.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
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
That pays off grandly, as Berniece, the picture of stability, squares off with the erratic Boy Willie over the sale of the family heirloom — a piano inlaid with carved figures from anguishing Black history.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 2, 2022
The pig squirms all over the ground, and its squeals become deeper and more anguishing.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
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.
