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.
Yes, gulping the liquid the night before was an ordeal — try drinking three liters of anything in three hours, going to sleep, then waking up six hours later for one final liter.
From Los Angeles Times
The couple told police they had been traumatised by the ordeal and feared being targeted again.
From BBC
On Saturday, a judge ordered Liam and his father's release, but the ordeal has intensified the anxiety felt among immigrants in Minneapolis.
From Barron's
His father Carlos seethes at their current ordeal.
From Barron's
“Life of Pi” is more than the tale of his ordeal, though that tale is extraordinary.
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.
