Agony Meaning
/ˈæɡ.ə.ni/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounExtreme pain.
nounExtreme pain or anguish.
Sentence Examples
My shoes hurt. I'm in agony.
He lay in agony until the doctor arrived.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The patient endured ____ from the infection despite taking strong medication.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The player was in visible ____ after breaking his leg in the game.
Word Origin & History
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. By surface analysis, agon + -y. The sense of "extreme pain" from c. 1600.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"And being in an agonie, he prayed more earneſtly,[…]."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 22:44, column 1:
"The world is convulsed by the agonies of great nations."
— 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter X, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
"With cries and agonies of wild delight."
— 1725, Homer, “Book X”, in [Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume III, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The patient endured ____ from the infection despite taking strong medication.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The player was in visible ____ after breaking his leg in the game.