anguish

For all its anguishing, the Court is actually a bit-player here.
Can Government Call the Shots on Cellphone Privacy?|Aziz Huq|April 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But there's a serious point here, and it extends well beyond the anguishing question of sexual assault.
Let's Get Real About Abortions|David Frum|October 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And, most anguishing of all, there was no chance that there was a mistake.
The Road to Understanding|Eleanor H. Porter
We resumed our seats, but had hardly done so, when a deep and most anguishing groan was heard, that pierced our very hearts.
Caxton's Book: A Collection of Essays, Poems, Tales, and Sketches.|W. H. Rhodes

An anguishing desire for the safe and wholesome Present usurped all this mad yearning to obtain the Past.
Incredible Adventures|Algernon Blackwood
The wild steed sought to fling up his head to shake off this anguishing weight of seventy odd pounds.
Buff: A Collie and other dog-stories|Albert Payson Terhune
Winnie's sweet and trusting faith in him filled him with an anguishing shame.
Frank Merriwell's Reward|Burt L. Standish

British Dictionary definitions for anguishing

anguish

/ (ˈæŋɡwɪʃ) /

noun

extreme pain or misery; mental or physical torture; agony

verb

to afflict or be afflicted with anguish

Word Origin for anguish

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