1
as in nightmare
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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in distress
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 explosion
a sudden intense expression of strong feeling
the announcement that the war was over unleashed a mass agony of joy
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 agony
The two men don’t stop yelling after a shot of morphine and a few bandages, and Sam’s screams of agony, in particular, seem to go on forever.
—
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2025
His experiences at Fuchu Prison left him with frostbite, screaming in agony, after being exposed to sub-zero temperatures during 20 days in solitary confinement.
—Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
What began as a blissful afternoon in the Florida sun ended in agony when a Jeep Wrangler suddenly barreled over a man lying on the beach, police said.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 9 Apr. 2025
Black is the ideal guy for the job here, screaming in agony while applying the nightmare product, and using Chester Cheetah as the alarmed straight man is inspired.
—Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 6 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for agony
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2025
His experiences at Fuchu Prison left him with frostbite, screaming in agony, after being exposed to sub-zero temperatures during 20 days in solitary confinement.
—Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
What began as a blissful afternoon in the Florida sun ended in agony when a Jeep Wrangler suddenly barreled over a man lying on the beach, police said.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 9 Apr. 2025
Black is the ideal guy for the job here, screaming in agony while applying the nightmare product, and using Chester Cheetah as the alarmed straight man is inspired.
—Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 6 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for agony
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agony
Noun
-
The reader is brought into the heart of Israel’s nightmare.—
Daniel Foster,
National Review,
15 May 2025
-
This harrowing, 35mm-shot story of pubescent boys tormenting each other at a water polo summer camp doubles as a coming-of-age drama and an adolescent, acne-scarred body-horror nightmare.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
15 May 2025
Noun
-
Recorded woodpecker distress calls or raptor calls can also repel the birds.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
16 May 2025
-
Settings of comfort—a bedroom, a flower garden, a backyard barbecue with friends—turn into sites of distress.—
The Atlantic,
The Atlantic,
15 May 2025
Noun
-
In addition to the fatalities, over 260 people were injured in the explosions, and at least 17 people lost limbs.—
Meredith Wilshere,
People.com,
10 May 2025
-
Residents living near Srinagar city’s airport, which is also an air base, said they were rattled by the explosions and booming sound of jets.—
Riazat Butt,
Chicago Tribune,
10 May 2025
Noun
-
Some of his misery has resulted from brilliant deflections or bad bounces off of his defencemen, but Hellebuyck is responsible for enough of his problems to earn the unwanted attention.—
Murat Ates,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2025
-
Strangling the dog to put it out of its misery could be seen as both an act of cruelty and an act of generosity, and that contradiction is interesting.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
25 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The experiment of pairing Antetokounmpo with Damian Lillard ended in anguish when Lillard tore his Achilles during the first round of the playoffs.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
7 May 2025
-
Without that, the Sinaloa cartel are likely to remain a prominent, wealthy force — and more families will feel anguish like that of Vivian Aispuro’s family.—
Isobel Yeung,
CNN Money,
2 May 2025
Noun
-
The pair hoped to make progress against urea-cycle disorders – inherited metabolic problems, like KJ’s that leave young children vulnerable to bursts of damaging ammonia.—
Karen Weintraub,
USA Today,
16 May 2025
-
The 23-year-old has the raw materials to become a decent striker, including a decent burst of acceleration, but needs to play more to develop, which might not happen at Barca.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
16 May 2025
Noun
-
Maduro, accusing them of participating in a coup, began a brutal crackdown, which has included the torture, secret detention, and killing of protesters, opposition-party members, and their relatives, according to Human Rights Watch.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
10 May 2025
-
Victims were subjected to enslavement, forced disappearance, torture and murder, among other crimes, the investigators found.—
Renata Brito,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2025
Noun
-
During raging emotional turmoil in the 1990s, Beth turned to writing to make sense of loss, pain, and a desire to belong.—
Sixteen Ramos,
USA Today,
9 May 2025
-
The specter of relapse hovers over every blood test, every new ache or pain.—
David Armstrong,
ProPublica,
8 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Agony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agony. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share