agony
n.-
1 extreme pain (n.) B2 Upper Intermediateextreme physical or mental pain that is very hard to bear.
extreme physical suffering or intense mental distress. Often used in the singular to describe a specific episode of suffering.
ExampleHe lay on the ground in agony after breaking his leg during the match.
ExampleThe family waited in agony for news of the survivors, their distress mounting with every hour that passed without a word from the rescue team.
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2 the struggle of dying (n.) C2 Proficiency Literary Archaicthe final struggle or pain someone feels just before they die.
the final physical struggle or suffering preceding death. Often used in literary or medical contexts to describe the transition to passing.
ExampleThe old stories described the hero's final agony on the battlefield.
ExampleThe poet captures the quiet agony of the fading year, drawing a parallel between the dying light of autumn and the end of a human life.
- death throes
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3 religious suffering (n.) C2 Proficiency Formal Religionthe great suffering of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.
the intense spiritual and physical suffering of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. Usually capitalized in this specific theological context.
ExampleThe painting depicts the Agony in the Garden with dark, moody colours.
ExampleThe theologian argued that the Agony in the Garden represented the ultimate intersection of human fear and divine will.
14th century, via Old French and Latin from Ancient Greek ἀγωνία (agōnía, “emulation, competition, struggle”), from ἀγών (agṓn, “contest”). Specifically of the struggle that precedes death (mortal agony) from the 1540s. The sense of "extreme pain" from c. 1600.