ordeal

American  

[awr-deel, -dee-uhl, awr-deel] / ɔrˈdil, -ˈdi əl, ˈɔr dil /

noun

ordeals plural

1. any extremely severe or trying test, experience, or trial.

2. 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.

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ordeal British  

/ ɔːˈdiːl /

noun

1. a severe or trying experience

2. 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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ordeals
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ordeal ordeals

It is also a powerful reminder of the ordeal of serious mental illness and the ever-pressing need to find better drugs to treat it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

The critter gained numerous fans during its brief romp around Comerica, with the crowd booing after its capture and again when Miller called for a round of applause for the ground crew after the ordeal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

They said they had faced a "profoundly sad ordeal".

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

But people were on edge after their ordeal,

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

He had hoped Gurgi would have overcome his fear, but he could not blame the creature for running off after his ordeal in the whirlpool.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander

However, Mr. Starritt keeps his leads center stage and ensures that throughout their professional trials and personal ordeals they remain captivating presences and sympathetic enough to root for.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

I never forgot how lucky I am to be here considering the horrors she experienced during World War II and her ordeals trying to give us a good life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

That was a dramatic improvement over recent weekends, when social media lit up with complaints of hour-and-a-half ordeals.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

Passengers touching down at airports in Australia, France, Germany, India, Russia, Taiwan and beyond told of sleepless nights and days-long ordeals to get out of the Middle East when war erupted.

From Barron's ● Mar. 4, 2026

“It is a difficult road you’ve taken, one riddled with hardships and painful ordeals, but then again, you are difficult children.”

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

Related Words

• agony
• anguish
• calamity
• difficulty
• nightmare
• torment
• torture
• trial