Agony

Definition: Agony

Agony

Noun

1. Intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain; "an agony of doubt"; "the torments of the damned".

2. A state of acute pain.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "agony" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Etymology: Agony \Ag"o*ny\, noun; plural Agonies. [Latin expression agonia, Greek, originally contest: compare to the French expression agonie. See Agon.]. (references)

Bible

Dream Interpretation

Literature

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonyms: Agony

Attack

Phrase: "the din of arms, the yell of savage rage, the shriek of agony, the groan of death"; "their fatal hands no second stroke intend"; "thirst for glory quells the love of life".

Death

Dying. Verb: moribund, morient; hippocratic; in articulo, in extremis; in the jaws of death, in the agony of death; going off; aux abois; one one's last legs, on one's death bed; at the point of death, at death's door, at the last gasp; near one's end, given over, booked; with one foot in the grave, tottering on the brink of the grave.

Excitability

Passion, excitement, flush, heat; fever, heat; fire, flame, fume, blood boiling; tumult; effervescence, ebullition; boiling over; whiff, gust, story, tempest; scene, breaking out, burst, fit, paroxysm, explosion; outbreak, outburst; agony.

Fear

Inspire fear, excite fear, inspire awe, excite awe; raise aprehensions; be in a daze, bulldoze; faze, feeze; give an alarm, raise an alarm, sound an alarm; alarm, startle, scare, cry " wolf," disquiet, dismay; fright, frighten, terrify; astound; fright from one's propriety; fright out of one's senses, fright out of one's wits, fright out of one's seven senses; awe; strike all of a heap, strike an awe into, strike terror; harrow up the soul, appall, unman, petrify, horrify; pile on the agony.

Pain

Pang, anguish, agony; torture, torment; purgatory; (hell).

Physical Pain

Anguish, agony; torment, torture; rack; cruciation, crucifixion; martyrdom, toad under a harrow, vivisection.

Crosswords: Agony

Your insults will do nothing to blunt the agony of your demise (Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver; writing credit: Amy Hennig)

That's how true love creates its beautiful agony. All splendid lovers have just dreadful times (The Parent Trap; writing credit: Erich Kästner; David Swift)

Beyond these doors is an agony worse than all others (Animaniacs; writing credit: Nick Dubois; Peter Hastings)

We'll bring you the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, and because we've got soccer highlights, the sheer pointlessness of a zero-zero tie. (Sports Night; writing credit: Tom Brady; Kevin Falls)

That's why I'm in such exquisite agony. (The Masochism Tango; performing artist: Tom Lehrer)

Lace and Lash Agony of Love (1970)

Highways of Agony (1969)

The Agony of Love (1965)

Cannes: The Agony and the Ecstasy (1998)

Agony Again (1995)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Celebrating the Wrath of God: Reflections on the Agony and the Ecstasy of His Relentless Love (reference)

• The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo (reference)

• The Agony of Alice (reference)

• The Agony of Mammon: The Imperial Global Economy Explains Itself to the Membership in Davos, Switzerland (reference)

• The Agony of the Leaves : The Ecstasy of My Life with Tea (reference)

  (more book examples)

Periodicals

• Agony Column (reference)

  (more periodical examples)

Theater & Movies

• Agony in the Garden (reference)

• The Agony and the Ecstasy (reference)

• The Agony of Defeat (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• The Agony And The Ecstasy (reference)

• Triumph & Agony (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Old Jack in the last agony and the fox caught in a rat trap. Credit: Library of Congress.

Agony of a caller discovering that her neighbor has nineteen electroliers in the ... Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Because you see the 46 millions in our island harassed about their food supply, of which they only grow one half, even in war-time, or because we have difficulty in restarting our industries and export trade after six years of passionate war effort, do not suppose that we shall not come through these dark years of privation as we have come through the glorious years of agony, or that half a century from now, you will not see 70 or 80 millions of Britons spread about the world and united in defense of our traditions, our way of life, and of the world causes which you and we espouse. ("Iron Curtain" Speech)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Nay! In those words there rings from other years The echo of a long low cry, Where a proud spirit wrestles with its tears In loneliest agony.

In his agony, he caught the spectral hand

Meanwhile, nevertheless, it was sad to think of the perchance mortal agony through which he must struggle towards his triumph

He, in his dying agony, makes part of this immense insanity of the sea.

His hands clenched convulsively and his teeth set together as he suffered the agony of its penetration

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

It can range from a dull, annoying ache to absolute agony. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "agony": agony column ♦ agony of death ♦ agony wagon ♦ be in agony ♦ death agony ♦ mortal agony ♦ pile on the agony ♦ pile up the agony ♦ the agony. Additional references.

Beginning with "agony": agony-aunt, agony-inducing.

Afrikaans

angst (anguish, fear, fright). (various references)

Albanian

agoni (death throes, death-struggle, torture). (various references)

Arabic 

‏كرب (anguish, distress, sorrow), ‏نوبة مفاجئة من الإبتهاج, ‏سكرة الموت, ‏عذاب (anguish, misery, ordeal, scourge, torment, torture), ‏صراع عنيف (tug of war), ‏النزع, ‏ألم مبرح. (various references)

Bulgarian 

силно страдание, силни болки, тежка борба (wrestle), гърчения, внезапен изблик, мъка (ado, affliction, desolation, excruciation, grief, heartache, laceration, misery, moil, pain, suffering, toil, torment, torture), агония (death-struggle). (various references)

Catalan

por (anguish, fear). (various references)

Chinese 

煩惱 (agonize, annoyance, upset, vexation, worries), 极度痛苦 (Agonies). (various references)

Czech

agónie, zápas (battle, bout, contest, encounter, fight, game, match, struggle, tussle, wrestle, wrestling), muka (anguish, calvary, suffering, torture), bolest (ache, anguish, bottleneck, hurt, pain, unhappiness). (various references)

Danish

angst (anguish, fear, fright). (various references)

Dutch

agonie (death throes), doodsangst (death throes). (various references)

Esperanto

angoro (anguish, fear), agonio (death throes). (various references)

Faeroese

angist (anguish, fear), andaleypsbrot (death throes). (various references)

Farsi 

تقلا (Bout, Bustle, Effort, Exertion, Muss, Scrabble, Scramble, Slog, Strain, Stress, Strife, Tug, Wrestle), سکرات مرگ , جانکندن , رنج (Bale, Discomfort, Labor, Pain, Throe, Toil, Trial, Tribulation), درد (Ailment, Distress, Pain, Pang, Shoot). (various references)

Finnish

tuska (anguish, distress, fear, pain, torment). (various references)

French

agonie, angoisse. (various references)

Frisian

eangstme (anguish, fear, fright), eangst (anguish, fear, fright), benaudens (anguish, fear, fright). (various references)

German

Todeskampf (death struggle, death throes, throes), Agonie (death pangs, death throes, throe, throes, throes of death). (various references)

Greek 

αγωνία (anguish, distress, suspense, throe). (various references)

Hawaiian

agoni (death throes). (various references)

Hebrew 

י�'ון (desolation, gloom, grief, sadness, sorrow), פרפור (convulsion, fibrillation, jerk, quiver, spasm, twitch), �'סיס�" (dying). (various references)

Hungarian

haláltusa (death agony, death-struggle, death-throe, dying, flurry, mortal agony, pangs of death, throes of death), agónia (death throes, death-throe, Gethsemane, throes). (various references)

Icelandic

hræðsla (anguish, fear, fright). (various references)

Indonesian

sakaratul maut, kesengsaraan (adversity, distress, misery, suffering). (various references)

Italian

angoscia (anguish, anxiety, distress, fear, fright, heartache), agonia (death, death throes, throes of death). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

苦悩 (affliction, anguish, distress, suffering, trouble). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

おうのう (anguish, trouble), なやみ (anguish, distress, problem, trouble, worry), くのう (affliction, anguish, distress, suffering, trouble), くつう (pain), わずらい (illness, sickness, vexation, worry), も� え (anguish), じゅな�" (passion, suffering), は�"も�" (asking in return, cross-examination, retort, speckles, worry). (various references)

Korean 

� 통 (Affliction, Afflictions, Agonies, Pain, Pains). (various references)

Manx

angaaish (anguish, torment). (various references)

Norwegian

redsel (anguish, fear, fright, horror), frykt (anguish, dread, fear, fright). (various references)

Papiamen

agonia (death throes). (various references)

Pig Latin

agonyay.(various references)

Portuguese

agonia (affliction, death throes, death-struggle, ordeal, throe, trial), aflição (ache, affliction, anguish, anxiety, cross, despair, distress, fear, grief, mourning, ordeal, pain, pang, smart, sore, sorrow, thorn, torture, trial, tribulation, trouble, woe). (various references)

Romanian

agonie (anguish, mortal agony, throes, torment, torture), supliciu (torment, torture), suferinţã (ache, cross, distress, endurance, hardship, heart ache, infliction, misery, pain, smart, suffering, trouble), spaimã (affright, bugaboo, dismay, dread, fear, fright, funk, horror, scare, scourge, startle, terror), izbucnire (blaze, burst, eruption, explosion, fit, fume, inrush, onset, outbreak, outburst, paroxysm, passion, start), desperare (despair, desperation, despondency, hopelessness), crizã violentã, chin (anguish, gnawing, hurt, laceration, moil, ordeal, pain, pang, rack, torment, torture, trouble, worriment), caznã (efforts, labor, labour, moil, question, rack, torment, torture). (various references)

Russian 

агония (death-struggle, throe, throes of death). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

agonija (death-struggle, throe, torment, travail), patnja (misery, pain, suffering, torment, travail), mučenje (anguish, excruciation, mortification, pangs, racking, torture), jaki bolovi. (various references)

Spanish

miedo (afraid, anguish, apprehension, fear, fearnought, fright, nervousness, timid, trepidation), angustia (angst, anguish, distress, fear, fright, heartache, heartbreak, pang, throes, torment, trouble), agonía (agony of death, anguish, throe, throes). (various references)

Swedish

vånda (anguish, squirm). (various references)

Turkish

agoni, acı çekme, kıvranma (squirm, suffering, wriggling), isa'nın son ıstırapları, can çekişme (death agony), ızdırap (affliction, anguish, distress, hurt, misery, pain, sting, suffering, torture). (various references)

Ukrainian

страждання (affliction, bale, crucifixion, gyp, heartache, infliction, misery, pain, pathos, sufferance, suffering, torment, travail, tribulation), мука (anguish, excruciation, martyrdom, moil, torture), агонія (death-struggle, throe). (various references)

Vietnamese 

sự thống khổ, sự quằn quại (wriggle, writhe), sự khổ cực, sự đau đớn (ailment, bitterness, pain, pang, smart, soreness, suffering). (various references)

Welsh

artaith (pang, torment, torture), poen (ache, pain, torment), ing (anguish, distress). (various references)

agonia. (various references)

torture. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Misspellings

"Agony" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Afgoye, afon, agany, agion, agn, Agni, Agnon, agona, agond, agone, agong, agonia, agonie, agons, aguy, Aigun, amoni, anony, atony, axony, egon, egonym, gainy, Gakonya, gaon, gauny, gonky, igon, Ngonya. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: agon, yang, yoga.

-2 letters: ago, any, gan, gay, goa, goy, nag, nay, nog, yon.

-3 letters: ag, an, ay, go, na, no, on, oy, ya, yo.

+1 letter: gowany, nongay, orangy.

+2 letters: aglycon, anagogy, analogy, bogyman, daylong, kayoing, nongays, nosegay, okaying, orangey, organdy, synagog.

+3 letters: aglycone, aglycons, agrimony, agronomy, alloying, amylogen, annoying, antilogy, autogeny, bogeyman, boogyman, coagency, cyanogen, endogamy, foraying, geomancy, gynoecia, gyration, hogmanay, hogmenay, hyalogen, hypogean, longways, mahogany, moneybag, monogamy, nosegays, nugatory, orangery, synagogs, toadying, voyaging, waygoing, xenogamy, yearlong.

+4 letters: adoringly, aglycones, amylogens, androgyne, androgyny, anisogamy, anthology, aroynting, astonying, boogeyman, canopying, cognately, crayoning, cyanogens, dragonfly, easygoing, genealogy, geobotany, gyrations, gyrfalcon, gyroplane, hogmanays, hogmenays, hooraying, hyalogens, legionary, moneybags, monophagy, nongreasy, nonpaying, outlaying, oxygenate, parodying, poignancy, polygonal, roaringly, shamoying, signatory, synagogal, synagogue, vainglory, waygoings.