Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To suffer mental anguish or worry about something.
  • intransitive verb To suffer extreme pain.
  • intransitive verb To cause great pain or anguish to. synonym: afflict.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To struggle; wrestle, as in the arena; hence, to make great effort of any kind.
  • To writhe with extreme pain; suffer violent anguish.
  • To distress with extreme pain; torture.
  • Also spelled agonise.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To cause to suffer agony; to subject to extreme pain; to torture.
  • intransitive verb To writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish.
  • intransitive verb To struggle; to wrestle; to strive desperately.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive To writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish.
  • verb intransitive To struggle; to wrestle; to strive desperately.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb cause to agonize
  • verb suffer agony or anguish

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Medieval Latin agōnizāre, from Greek agōnizesthai, to struggle, from agōn, contest; see agony.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French agoniser, from Late Latin agonizare, from Ancient Greek ἀγωνίζομαι (agonizomai, "to fight, contend"). See agony.

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Examples

  • Spirit "agonize" in prayer as the Son did in Gethsemane?

    The Kneeling Christian Unknown Christian 1971

  • They did not agonize over why they were fighting or whether it was worth it.

    Matthew Yglesias » The War 2009

  • Cohen said he has seen anxiety increase among some clients who use Facebook because they focus too much on how many friends they have, or worry that others aren't posting enough items on their walls, or fret about what to write in their status updates, just as they agonize over what to say in person.

    Can Facebook help overcome shyness? Michael S. Rosenwald 2011

  • Cohen said he has seen anxiety increase among some clients who use Facebook because they focus too much on how many friends they have, or worry that others aren't posting enough items on their walls, or fret about what to write in their status updates, just as they agonize over what to say in person.

    Can Facebook help overcome shyness? Michael S. Rosenwald 2011

  • Cohen said he has seen anxiety increase among some clients who use Facebook because they focus too much on how many friends they have, or worry that others aren't posting enough items on their walls, or fret about what to write in their status updates, just as they agonize over what to say in person.

    Can Facebook help overcome shyness? Michael S. Rosenwald 2011

  • Many Namie residents continue to agonize over the possibility that they may have deserted fellow citizens who were awaiting rescue.

    Would-Be Rescuers Still Haunted by Japan's Disasters Yuka Hayashi 2011

  • People agonize over buying washing machines and homes, but all spending is important, Mr. Edelman says.

    How You Can Get a Raise This Year Ruth Mantell 2012

  • And she has adopted a "fabulous" new hairstyle -- dreadlocks -- so that she no longer has to agonize about her perpetually frizzy hair.

    An Interview with Anne Lamott 2010

  • To watch him agonize over some of the tough positions he took was to appreciate the complexity of a man judged harshly and often simplistically.

    He Knew He Was Right Don Ohlmeyer 2011

  • I agonize that my sanity will implode as the lines of reality blur while I try to find a footing in this new definition of my life.

    Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grieving and Recovery Jack Canfield 2011

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