throes
Britishplural noun
-
a condition of violent pangs, pain, or convulsions
death throes
-
struggling with great effort with
a country in the throes of revolution
Explanation
Did your team just lose the Super Bowl or the World Series? You're probably in the throes of despair — experiencing intense feelings of suffering and agitation. Although we normally associate the throes of some emotion or physical sensation to be an unpleasant state, that's not always the case. Some throes teeter on the borderline between delight and despair. Check out Bernini's sculpture in Rome of St. Theresa in the throes of spiritual ecstasy. Is she terrified or thrilled? Impossible to separate the two. She's in the throes.
Vocabulary lists containing throes
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 19–24
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "T"
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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.
The startup, in the throes of responding to rogue AI incidents, said three employees violated policies for handling sensitive company data.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Our brains get mired in the throes of the fallacy when we feel we can’t do what we really want, simply because we’ve already invested so much in what we currently have.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Indonesia is in the throes of a wildfire catastrophe.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
It has not yet reached its peak but Central America is already in the throes of a severe drought, prompting Honduras and El Salvador to also declare emergencies.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
“Perhaps he is still in the throes of his moon-induced ‘condition.’
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
