anguish

¹an·guish

noun \ˈaŋ-gwish\

Definition of ANGUISH

: extreme pain, distress, or anxiety

Examples of ANGUISH

1. He experienced the anguish of divorce after 10 years of marriage.
2. They watched in anguish as fire spread through the house.

Origin of ANGUISH

Middle English angwisshe, from Anglo-French anguisse, angoisse, from Latin angustiae, plural, straits, distress, from angustus narrow; akin to Old English enge narrow — more at anger

First Known Use: 13th century

Related to ANGUISH

Synonyms: affliction, agony, distress, excruciation, hurt, misery, pain, rack, strait(s), torment, torture, travail, tribulation, woe

Antonyms: blessedness, bliss, blissfulness, cheer, cheerfulness, cheeriness, delight, ecstasy, elatedness, elation, euphoria, exhilaration, exuberance, exultation, felicity, gladness, gladsomeness, glee, gleefulness, happiness, joy, joyfulness, joyousness, jubilation, pleasure, rapture, rapturousness

Related Words: discomfort; cross, crucible, trial; heartache, heartbreak, joylessness, sadness, sorrow, unhappiness; emergency, pinch; asperity, difficulty, hardship, rigor; ache, pang, smarting, soreness, stitch, throe, twinge; danger, jeopardy, trouble

Near Antonyms: comfort, consolation, solace; alleviation, assuagement, ease, relief; peace, security; well-being

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See Synonym Discussion at sorrow

Rhymes with ANGUISH

languish