agony
135
3.9
- noun
- /ˈæɡəni/
:
agonía
- After the accident, he lay in agony on the hospital bed, unable to move.
- go through agony
- prolong the agony
- die in agony
It was, I was in agony, like I was really unwell.
- It was, I was in agony, like I was really unwell.
- It was absolute agony for them to get there.
- And that is the core of the unending grief and agony of these narcissistic relationships.
- So I totally get the sort of agony and ecstasy of parenthood.
- But I still, three days a week, have just absolute agony in my gut.
- We of course are going to experience pain, grief, agony when we see someone else in pain.
- But Even so, she did not feel she understood his shame, his agony of humiliation.
- These guys were screaming for their mothers, weeping in agony.
- But you go through ups and downs and waves of, of bliss and, and agony.
- It's really painful seeing our child in agony.
- It's like how you transitioned between agony, guilt and euphoria of what just happened.
- And so I was taking painkillers, but it was agony.
- It's like the sight of sores and pains and agony and exhaustion.
- That's why she, she's believed that it has to be an agony to, to be good.
Examples
-
Long delays for court docket time prolong the agony for parents and children.
Academic text (2017) -
Look, I have been in agony for the past week.
-
We face more cost... more loss... and more agony.
-
Instead, I'll make sure you live for the rest of your life in agony like me.
-
Let's save him from his agony.
-
Somewhere in the midst of his agony, the voice of reason made itself heard.
Fiction book (1991) -
In Bosnia, we have no real idea of the agony that is gone through every day.
Academic text (1994) -
It was absolute agony for them to get there.
-
I pitied them for the agony they're going through.
-
Peter's last days in town were an agony for everyone, and most especially for Paxton.
Fiction book (1990)
Synonyms
∞
3.7
A very painful or difficult experience
∞
1.0
An unpleasant feeling in the body because of injury or illness
636
2.8
Pain and trouble that a person feels in the body or mind
310
2.8
A feeling of great unhappiness and suffering
240
3.6
A state of very strong pain, worry or serious trouble
179
8.4
To feel great pain or trouble and be very unhappy
137
7.2
Very strong mental or physical pain that is hard to bear
96
6.8
A very strong, painful feeling of worry or sadness
70
5.6
Great physical or mental pain someone feels
45
6.7
A condition that causes great pain or suffering, often from illness
5
7.5
A strong long-lasting pain in the mind from worry or trauma
A very severe physical or emotional pain someone feels
A feeling of pain too strong to describe in words
Antonyms
Compounds
- Literature
1
7.7
A woman who writes a newspaper or magazine column giving readers advice about personal problems
- Literature
A newspaper or magazine section where readers ask about personal problems and get advice
- Literature
A man who writes advice in a newspaper or magazine about personal problems
How Painful
Surface Forms
Morphology
agony = agon + y
The element 'agon' is a Greek combining form rather than a recognizable modern English base, so the meaning 'extreme pain' is not transparently derived by a B1 learner from 'agon' + '-y'.
Etymology
Agony comes from the Greek word agonía, which means 'struggle' or 'contest' and is the same root as in agonize. Imagine someone fighting for breath or life. That hard struggle became linked with great pain, so agony now means extreme suffering.