agonies

noun

plural of agony
1
as in horrors
a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness waiting all those hours to hear if he'd survived the plane crash was pure agony

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pains
a state of great suffering of body or mind the agony of never knowing what happened to her son

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in explosions
a sudden intense expression of strong feeling the announcement that the war was over unleashed a mass agony of joy

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of agonies There are few harsher agonies than waiting, and throughout the great expanse of the CPKC ‘International’ Grand Prix presented by Rolex at the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’, two riders felt that in very different ways. — Tilly Berendt, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026 Sadly, in discouraging all the phantom agonies, FIFA inadvertently seems to have done away with the equally farcical phenomenon that is Magic Spray®. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 17 July 2026 The reticence of Cartland’s heroes belies agonies of loneliness. — Simon Perry, PEOPLE, 18 June 2026 Although the novel’s center does not quite hold, O’Farrell’s emotional intelligence — the heart and heat of her characters — braces this sometimes unwieldy chronicle of a nation that has been subject to cumbrous historic agonies. — Rachel Vorona Cote, Vulture, 2 June 2026 While significant, the Sotheby’s statue was just one among thousands of pieces that had been systematically stolen during the country’s deepest agonies. — Matthew Campbell, Bloomberg, 22 May 2026 The agonies of the day were only intermittently audible in the music on offer in Witten. — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 18 May 2026 The celebrated poet and memoirist, delves into the agonies of her decision and describes the emerging women’s liberation movement, of which Moore would soon become a participant. — Literary Hub, 20 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agonies
  1. horrors
  2. pains
  3. explosions
  4. nightmares
  5. distresses
  6. outbursts
  7. miseries
  8. bursts
Noun
  • The play is a gently unfolding, calmly delivered tale of the decades of horrors endured by a real-life person named Eddie Jaku.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Rebecca and Verity, which stars Johnson, are also about a new, naïve lover entering the home of a bad man with a wife hidden in his house of horrors.
    — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of horrors
Noun
  • In the past, Fox News has taken pains to illustrate to its viewers how the election could tilt blue.
    — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Symptoms usually begin within two weeks and can last nearly three weeks, including aches and pains, nausea and rashes.
    — Angie DiMichele, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of pains
Noun
  • The shoot involved firing blanks and igniting explosions, theatrics that shocked the film’s residential neighbors and spurred concerns over public safety.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026
  • As the car drives on while dodging a series of explosions, a seemingly endless number of terrorists armed with automatic weapons shoot at it to no avail.
    — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of explosions
Noun
  • Acceptance Soenen’s denial eventually gave way to panic attacks and nightmares.
    — Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026
  • One of those nightmares centers on whether the execution team will be able to establish an IV line.
    — Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of nightmares
Noun
  • Pain, infection, medication side effects, and other physical and emotional distresses may be expressed through shouting, intimidating gestures, kicking, pushing, or punching.
    — Jordan Rau, NPR, 19 July 2026
Definition of distresses
Noun
  • Michael Douglas was subject to violent and angry outbursts as well.
    — Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
  • There was no notice to staff that swings in blood sugar levels can cause the kind of emotional distress and behavioral outbursts that got Christian in trouble.
    — Joseph Shapiro, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of outbursts
Noun
  • Some residents said hope is elusive given the island’s litany of miseries – from natural disasters to a bankrupt government to a financial control board that manages funding for infrastructure.
    — Isabel Rosales, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Cyclospora, an intestinal parasite, has sickened thousands of people and hospitalized hundreds with explosive diarrhea, painful cramping, or other gastrointestinal miseries.
    — Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of miseries
Noun
  • But more appealing to me were the smaller bursts of creativity.
    — Tony Perrottet, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Nobody is more confident working with the Kings than Colter, whose swagger and comfort with bursts of goofiness are well-deployed, albeit with less emotional range in the early-going.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of bursts

Browse Nearby Words

agone
agonies
agonistic
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Cite this Entry

“Agonies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agonies. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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