agony
A person who experiences a lot of physical or mental pain might be in agony. The word “agony” is a noun:
- Jeremy is in agony from a toothache. (The preposition “in” is often used with “agony.”)
- Michelle experienced years of agony after the death of her husband.
- Athletes at the Olympic Games will experience the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
- War and famine cause real agony for those who are affected.
- Road construction this summer has resulted in tremendous agony for drivers in this area.
You can make a verb from “agony” by adding an “ize” ending:
- Martha agonizes over laying off her employees.
- The company agonized over its decision to move to a new location before finally doing it.
- You shouldn’t agonize over this. It’s not a big problem.
- Bob is agonizing over his decision to get married. Now he doesn’t want to do it.
The word “agonizing” is an adjective:
- That was an agonizing experience.
- The responsibilities in this job are agonizing.
- Waiting in line can be agonizing.
- This is agonizing.
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