anguish
n. C / Un. extreme mental or physical suffering. You feel this when pain is very deep and hard to bear.
n. severe mental or physical suffering; acute distress. Typically uncountable in general usage; countable when referring to specific instances or sources of pain.
She felt deep anguish after the loss.
The family expressed their anguish during the long wait for news.
His anguish was not merely personal but reflected the collective despair of a generation torn apart by war.
From Middle English angwissh, anguishe, angoise, from Anglo-Norman anguise, anguisse, from Old French angoisse, from Latin angustia (“narrowness, scarcity, difficulty, distress”), from angustus (“narrow, difficult”), from angere (“to press together, cause pain, distress”). See angst, the Germanic cognate, and anger.
From Middle English angwischen, anguis(s)en, from Old French angoissier, anguissier, from the noun (see Etymology 1).