ordeal
Americannoun
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any extremely severe or trying test, experience, or trial.
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a primitive form of trial to determine guilt or innocence by subjecting the accused person to fire, poison, or other serious danger, the result being regarded as a divine or preternatural judgment.
noun
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a severe or trying experience
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history a method of trial in which the guilt or innocence of an accused person was determined by subjecting him to physical danger, esp by fire or water. The outcome was regarded as an indication of divine judgment
Etymology
Origin of ordeal
before 950; Middle English ordal, Old English ordāl; cognate with Dutch oordeel, German Urteil. See a- 3, dole 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.
On March 23, a few days after Halioua’s frightening ordeal, the transport ministry limited flights to one per hour and capped each outgoing flight at 50 passengers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
Relatives of those killed in the 1989 spoke of their ordeal at the appeal trial last week.
From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026
The “Messy” hitmaker told Rolling Stone in a recent interview that she was grateful that she fainted onstage late last year, and framed the scary ordeal as a wake-up call.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026
Kalekye says she is talking about her ordeal publicly to counter what has been said about her.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
He must have slept through the whole awful ordeal with Tamika.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
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.
