Link Centre Dictionary

agony

US/ˈæɡ.ə.ni/ fairly common

noun

1.

intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain

  • “an agony of doubt”
  • “the torments of the damned”
Synonyms
2.

Origin

14th century, via Old French and Latin from Ancient Greek ἀγωνία (agōnía, “emulation, competition, struggle”), from ἀγών (agṓn, “contest”). Specifically of the struggle that precedes death (mortal agony) from the 1540s. By surface analysis, agon + -y. The sense of "extreme pain" from c. 1600.

Phrases

  • agony aunt
  • agony auntie
  • agony aunty
  • agony box
  • agony column
  • agony uncle

Related words

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.