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Definition of 'agonize'

Word Frequency

agonize

(ægənaɪz )
Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense agonizes , present participle agonizing , past tense, past participle agonized regional note:   in BRIT, also use agonise
verb
If you agonize over something, you feel very anxious about it and spend a long time thinking about it.
Perhaps he was agonizing over the moral issues involved. [V + over/about]
She only made the decision to apply for training after years of agonizing. [VERB-ing]
[Also VERB]
Synonyms: suffer, labour, worry, struggle   More Synonyms of agonize
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency

agonize in British

or agonise (ˈæɡəˌnaɪz )
verb
1. 
to suffer or cause to suffer agony
2. (intransitive)
to make a desperate effort; struggle; strive
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
agonizingly (ˈagoˌnizingly) or agonisingly (ˈagoˌnisingly)
  adverb
Word origin of 'agonize'
C16: via Medieval Latin from Greek agōnizesthai to contend for a prize, from agōn agon
Word Frequency

agonize in American

(ˈægəˌnaɪz ; agˈənīzˌ)
verb intransitiveWord forms: ˈagoˌnized or ˈagoˌnizing
1. 
to make convulsive efforts; struggle
2. 
to be in agony or great pain; feel anguish
verb transitive
3. 
to cause great pain to; torture
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
agonizing (ˈagoˌnizing)
  adjective
agonizingly (ˈagoˌnizingly)
  adverb
Word origin of 'agonize'
LL agonizare < Gr agōnizesthai, to contend for a prize < agōn, agon

Example sentences containing 'agonize'

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…
Nick, he used to agonize for two days before getting up the nerve to call you on the phone and invite you over for dinner. James Grippando A KING'S RANSOM (2001)

Trends of 'agonize'

Used Rarely. agonize is in the lower 50% of commonly used words in the Collins dictionary

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Translations for 'agonize'

British English: agonize VERB
If you agonize over something, you feel very anxious about it and spend a long time thinking about it.
Perhaps he was agonizing over the moral issues involved.
  • American English: agonize
  • Brazilian Portuguese: remoer
  • Chinese: 伤脑筋
  • European Spanish: inquietarse
  • French: se tourmenter
  • German: sich quälen
  • Italian: angosciarsi
  • Japanese: 悩む
  • Korean: 괴로워하다
  • European Portuguese: remoer
  • Spanish: inquietarse

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Nearby words of 'agonize'

  • agonistic
  • agonistical
  • agonistically
  • agonize
  • agonized
  • agonizedly
  • agonizing

  • All ENGLISH words that begin with 'A'

Source

Definition of agonize from the Collins English Dictionary

Distributives

Distributives are determiners that are used to talk about how something is shared out or divided. The distributives are each, every, either, and neither. They are used with a singular noun. Each chi...
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Scrabble score for 'agonize': 17
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