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
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:
These “ghost jobs” have been a longtime source of frustration and anguish for people slogging through an increasingly anonymous and impersonal job-search process.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
These so-called ghost jobs are a longtime source of frustration and anguish for people slogging through an increasingly anonymous and impersonal job-search process.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
"I know the anguish we experienced this morning, especially among our elderly people and young children, who had never experienced a situation like this before."
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
Amid his anguish, Gallego wants to acknowledge the work of ordinary citizens.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
There was a small hole, slightly charred, in my white shirt: my Paul Smith shirt, I thought, with a pang of anguish.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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
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 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
Why should not such love as this have its drama and its romance, as it has its anguishes, its sacrifices, and its joys?
From The English Stage Being an Account of the Victorian Drama by Augustin Filon
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
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
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 “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” one of the greatest plays from August Wilson’s majestic cycle exploring the African-American experience in the 20th century, virtually all the characters are in an anguished search for something.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
Although he anguished over the future and worried about this country that seemed so impossibly hard to grow up in now, he tried to block it out of his mind.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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
Christmas and New Year’s came and went like a slow and anguishing blur.
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.
