anguishing

verb

present participle of anguish
1
as in plaguing
to cause persistent suffering to she was anguished by the fear that her sons would die in the war

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in grieving
to feel deep sadness or mental pain I anguished over the loss of my father for years afterwards

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of anguishing Hong Kong is an anguishing example. — Michelle Kuo, The Dial, 14 Apr. 2026 Especially for someone whose entire adult life has been immersed in the adrenaline-infusion of coaching — from its exhilarating highs and anguishing lows to simply always being in the middle of so much. — Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anguishing
  1. plaguing
  2. grieving
  3. afflicting
  4. aching
  5. persecuting
  6. mourning
  7. torturing
  8. sighing
Verb
  • Footage of the protest has since gone viral across social media, igniting widespread awareness for one of the trans athlete incidents currently plaguing Washington state.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
  • That's when many of issues plaguing the stock started to turn around.
    — Zev Fima, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of plaguing
Verb
  • As investigators search for answers, a restaurant is stepping in to help grieving families and those with loved ones in the hospital.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Panicked, grieving parents were trying to help when crews arrived, Faizi said.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of grieving
Verb
  • Singh and Jaggseer, like Beyoncé and Lil Nas X before them, highlight an identity crisis afflicting modern country music.
    — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The work continues and the Frates family has maintained the passion that Pete instilled in them in fighting the disease that is still afflicting far too many people.
    — Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of afflicting
Verb
  • Moments of mutual support and understanding, of belly-aching laughter and silliness, of care and deep love.
    — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026
  • As an orthopedic surgeon, Howard Luks treats aching, aging knees.
    — Gretchen Reynolds, Washington Post, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of aching
Verb
  • Biden weaponized Law Enforcement against his political opponent, while also persecuting many other innocent people.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 11 June 2026
  • Jack Hayford, the founder of the King’s University, in Texas, claimed that the film was persecuting Christians, who only wanted to be treated equally.
    — Isaac Butler, New Yorker, 30 May 2026
Definition of persecuting
Verb
  • Rock band Pavlov’s Dog is mourning the loss of singer-songwriter and lead vocalist David Surkamp, who died Monday at age 74.
    — Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The town of Woodville, Wisconsin, is mourning the loss of Ron Riek, a prominent businessman and pilot killed in a small plane crash Tuesday night near the Wisconsin Dells.
    — Frankie McLister, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of mourning
Verb
  • Guevara has never been charged with a crime in connection with allegedly torturing supsects, and the statute of limitations has long since expired on any such charges, Felker said.
    — Chris Tye, CBS News, 5 Oct. 2026
  • In 1996, Pike was found guilty of first-degree murder for beating, torturing and killing Slemmer, a fellow Jobs Corps worker, in a remote area of the University of Tennessee Agricultural campus.
    — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of torturing
Verb
  • By the 11th game of the third set, Keys was hitting herself in the head with her racket, taking her cap off and sighing deep breaths that were either meant to steady her or out of exasperation.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The soundtrack—by the frequent Hans Zimmer collaborator David Fleming—is a delight, a polyphonic mood board of ghost-clangs, spooky bassoons, lyrical electro-motifs, and sighing sea themes.
    — James Parker, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026
Definition of sighing

Browse Nearby Words

anguishes
anguishing
angular
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Anguishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anguishing. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of jilt

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All