excruciate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to inflict severe pain upon; torture.
The headache excruciated him.
-
to cause mental anguish to; irritate greatly.
verb
-
to inflict mental suffering on; torment
-
obsolete to inflict physical pain on; torture
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of excruciate
1560–70; < Latin excruciātus, past participle of excruciāre to torment, torture, equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + cruciāre to torment, crucify (derivative of crux cross); see -ate 1
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:
"He will be vulgarly stuck up, and excruciate me with every French word he attempts to pronounce."
From Magnum Bonum by Charlotte Mary Yonge
"And your bilious eyes and eyelids full of crows' feet, and the gout and the rheumatism which excruciate you?—those horrid spiders which are weaving their threads in the muscles of your calves?"
From Le Morvan, [A District of France,] Its Wild Sports, Vineyards and Forests; with Legends, Antiquities, Rural and Local Sketches by William Jesse
Her presence used to excruciate Osborne; but go she would upon all parties of pleasure on which she heard her young friends were bent.
From Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
"You didn't excruciate my wrist so like time!" groaned Bill.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 83, September, 1864 by Various
“Zama,” a brief, indelible novel by the Argentinean writer Antonio Di Benedetto, is a work of waiting—of enforced lassitude, excruciated anticipation, and final frustration.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 15, 2017
The speaker is Tithonus himself, in love with Dawn but excruciated to be held captive to yet another day.
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 5, 2016
However, he retired with the doctor, and made up his mind to be excruciated.
From The Adventures of a Three-Guinea Watch by Talbot Baines Reed
I must leave off writing; I am excruciated with the toothache, which has tormented me without respite all day.
From Records of a Girlhood by Fanny Kemble
He was always pleasant, and he let me play on his guitar, though he swore it excruciated him.
From London Pride Or When the World Was Younger by M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon
Hayley Locksley was 11 years old when she started her periods and excruciating pain became part of her life.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
His sickle cell disease leaves him in excruciating pain.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Spencer wrote that Princess Diana struggled academically and found school excruciating at times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
She faced an excruciating decision familiar to many minority families: how to balance the cultural and social education they want for their children against the academic preparation they need.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
He was smiling, relaxed — and, as usual, perfect and beautiful to an excruciating degree.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
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