excruciating
Americanadjective
-
extremely painful; causing intense suffering; unbearably distressing; torturing: excruciating pain.
an excruciating noise;
excruciating pain.
- Synonyms:
- racking, agonizing, unendurable, insufferable, unbearable
-
exceedingly elaborate or intense; extreme.
done with excruciating care.
adjective
-
unbearably painful; agonizing
-
intense; extreme
he took excruciating pains to do it well
-
informal irritating; trying
-
humorous very bad
an excruciating pun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of excruciating
First recorded in 1655–65; excruciat(e) + -ing 2
Explanation
Something that’s really intense or painful is excruciating. If you go skiing and break your leg in several places, the ride from the slope to the hospital will be excruciating — unless you're unconscious, too. Excruciating doesn't just hurt. It feels like torture. This adjective actually comes to us from the Latin excruciatus, which means “to afflict, harass, vex, torment.” Extremely painful injuries are certainly excruciating, but sometimes so are tedious tasks or long waits: Watching the old lady in front of you pay for her groceries one nickel at a time can be just as excruciating as 4 broken ribs, especially if you're in a hurry.
Vocabulary lists containing excruciating
Their Eyes Were Watching God
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I Am Malala
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Brave New World
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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.
Spencer wrote that Princess Diana struggled academically and found school excruciating at times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Charities step in to help some people leave on chartered planes, as well as via long, excruciating journeys on overcrowded trains and buses.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
"That led to excruciating amounts of pain and a lot of issues again with making weight, which really affected me leading into comp," Lhamo continued.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
This comes after the club slogged to first place last year with a nail-biting mix of narrow victories and excruciating defense.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
I cross into the kitchen, forcing myself to use my foot normally even though every step is excruciating.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
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.
