ordeal
Americannoun
-
any extremely severe or trying test, experience, or trial.
-
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
-
a severe or trying experience
-
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
Explanation
An ordeal is something difficult or painful to go through. Something kind of hard like taking a test can be an ordeal, but often an ordeal is a serious and long-lasting event, like an illness or tragedy. When you go through an ordeal you have to deal with something tough. Waiting for someone you love to recover from an injury and come home from the hospital is an ordeal — for both of you — and being a victim of a crime is a different kind of ordeal. You can use this noun in an exaggerated way, too, as when you endure the long ordeal of cleaning the garage on a sunny weekend.
Vocabulary lists containing ordeal
List 4
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Tuck Everlasting
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Ultimately, the crew resat him elsewhere, but the ordeal took some time.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026
Video of the rescue shows him standing in waist-deep water, telling his rescuers that he never lost faith during his ordeal.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
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
The “Pose” star said the emotional ordeal has been mind-altering.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026
To their enormous credit, despite the terrible ordeal they were put through, most of the marchers completed the route.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
