agonize en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (UK) audio
- /ˈæɡ.ɪ.nɑez/ (Australia)
- (General-American) audio
- /ˈæɡ.ɪ.naɪz/ (Canada, General-American)
- /ˈæɡ.ə.naɪz/ (Canada, General-American)
- /ˈæɡ.ɪ.naɪz/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
From French agoniser, from Late Latin agonizare, from Ancient Greek ἀγωνίζομαι (agōnízomai, “to fight, contend”). See agony. By surface analysis, agon + -ize.
Meanings
-
(intransitive) To writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish.
His Touch, if tremblingly alive all o’er, / To smart, and agonize at ev’ry pore?
1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], epistle I, London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC, page 13, lines 223–24:
-
(intransitive, literary) To struggle; to wrestle; to strive desperately, whether mentally or physically.
So I took a last stare round, agonizing to see if there was any way of escape; but the stone walls and roof were solid enough to crush me, and the stack of casks too closely packed to hide more than a rat.
[1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC:
-
(transitive) To cause agony or anguish in someone.
That dreadful bill […] was one of the chief torments of her life. At all hours of the night or day it was waiting just round the corner of her consciousness, ready to spring upon her and agonise her […]
1935, George Orwell, A Clergyman’s Daughter, page 8:
- (transitive) To act as an agonist upon; to combine with a receptor on a cell to produce a physiological reaction.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| agonizing | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| agonizes | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| agonized | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| agonized | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| agonise | alternative | lexicographic |
Antonyms
chill · take it easy · relax
Deriveds
Hypernyms
Relateds
agonization · agon · deagonize · agony · agonizing
Synonyms
afflict · ache · lament · wring · agonize · hurt · pang · hurt · wring · pine · torture · pain · torture · suffer · hurt · excruciate · fret · agonize · anguish · ache · wark · throe · afflict · agonize · aggrieve · bereave · throe · ache · torment · dere · fret · anguish · irritate · rack · torment · thole · passion
Translations (14)
cmn 痛苦挣扎 (to struggle) · pt agonizar (to writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish.) · fi kärsiä (to writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish.) · fi kitua (to writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish.) · unm ahowamàlsi (to writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish.) · bg агонизи́рам (to writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish.) · de quälen (to writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish.) · bg мятам се (to struggle) · cmn 焦虑不已 (to writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish.) · es agonizar (to writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish.) · mi whakaangaanga (to struggle) · eo angori (to writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish.) · ca agonitzar (to writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish.) · fi kipuilla (to struggle)