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
A Spelling Bee for Fun
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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.
Australia's army is in the throes of a major transformation, equipping itself with long-range firepower, drones and other modern combat tools.
From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026
“I was able to go back to X-Men land and destroy New Jersey, effortlessly,” he says proudly, raising his hands like Magneto in the throes of power.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
As she points out, “the ability to continue moving through one’s life even in the throes of depression makes the anguish no less real.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026
Cuba is in the throes of its worst economic crisis in decades, marked by power outages of up to 20 hours a day and critical shortages of fuel, medicines and food.
From Barron's • Feb. 2, 2026
It was only years later, in medical school, that I realized that Rajesh was likely in the throes of an acute manic phase.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
