AGONY
What does "AGONY" mean?
Extreme physical or mental suffering.
Meanings
- Intense and prolonged pain or distress, of body or mind. She waited in agony for the test results to come back.
- A violent struggle or contest, especially a final one. In its death agony the old regime grew most cruel. formal
Did you know?
- Agony once meant a contest, not a pain: it comes from the Greek 'agon', the athletic struggle that also gave us 'protagonist' and 'antagonist'.
Word origin
From Greek 'agonia' (a struggle, contest), from 'agon' (a gathering or athletic contest); via Latin and Old French into English.
Remember it
AGONY hides 'a go' - the agony of having to keep going.
A little poem
Teeth set on a wire-
the long second before the
phone is answered. Breathe.
haiku
Wordplay
- The marathon runner said the last mile was pure agony - which was fitting, since 'agony' started life as a Greek word for a race.
What it teaches
Pain that has a name is already half-borne; the worst agony is the kind you cannot say aloud.
Quick facts
What does AGONY mean?
Extreme physical or mental suffering.
Is AGONY a valid word?
Yes — AGONY is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is AGONY?
AGONY has 5 letters and 3 syllables.
Where does AGONY come from?
From Greek 'agonia' (a struggle, contest), from 'agon' (a gathering or athletic contest); via Latin and Old French into English.
What can AGONY teach us?
Pain that has a name is already half-borne; the worst agony is the kind you cannot say aloud.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.