excruciating

American  

[ik-skroo-shee-ey-ting] / ɪkˈskru ʃiˌeɪ tɪŋ /

adjective

1. extremely painful; causing intense suffering; unbearably distressing; torturing: excruciating pain.

   an excruciating noise;

   excruciating pain.

   Synonyms:

   racking, agonizing, unendurable, insufferable, unbearable

2. exceedingly elaborate or intense; extreme.

   done with excruciating care.

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excruciating British  

/ ɪkˈskruːʃɪˌeɪtɪŋ /

adjective

1. unbearably painful; agonizing

2. intense; extreme

   he took excruciating pains to do it well

3. informal irritating; trying

4. humorous very bad

   an excruciating pun

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Other Word Forms

• excruciatingly adverb
• unexcruciating adjective

Etymology

Origin of excruciating

First recorded in 1655–65; excruciat(e) + -ing ²

Example Sentences

She said she is still in excruciating back pain from her surgery.

From Los Angeles Times

Lying down helped, so she tried to get some sleep, but by the next morning the pain had become excruciating.

From BBC

If there’s a positive for Miami, it’s that one NFL team committed a similarly excruciating error and has surprisingly emerged as one of the game’s best teams nonetheless.

From The Wall Street Journal

It lasted about 15 minutes—the longest, most excruciating period of my life—before I was able to make contact with my family.

From The Wall Street Journal

Finally, after roughly 15 excruciating minutes, Ostrovsky got a message back from his wife.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• acute
• agonizing
• exquisite
• grueling
• harrowing
• intense
• searing
• severe
• unbearable