agonizing

American

[ag-uh-nahy-zing] / ˈæg əˌnaɪ zɪŋ /

adjective

accompanied by, filled with, or resulting in agony or distress.

We spent an agonizing hour waiting to hear if the accident had been serious or not.

Usage

What does agonizing mean? Agonizing means filled with or resulting in agony—extreme pain or suffering, especially the kind that lasts for a long time. A close synonym is excruciating.Agony can be physical or emotional, and things that are agonizing can involve physical or emotional pain. A person who has just broken their leg and a person who has just experienced the death of a loved one could both be said to be in agonizing pain. To suffer an agonizing death is to experience an extremely painful one. An agonizing decision is one that is very hard to make due to being emotionally painful in some way.Agonizing is also the continuous tense (-ing form) of the verb agonize, which can mean to be in agony. However, it most commonly means to put forth a great effort—to struggle or strive, as in She’s been agonizing about what to get you for your birthday. Example: She’s down and appears to be in agonizing pain—the trainers are coming onto the field now to help her.

Other Word Forms

agonizingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of agonizing

First recorded in 1660–70; agonize + -ing ²

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023