excruciating

CEFRC1

/ɪkˈskɹuːʃiːeɪtɪŋ/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Extremely painful or difficult to endure.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Exceedingly intense; extreme

Examples

  • Listening to the orator's incoherent ramblings was excruciating.

  • Tom has been in excruciating pain.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
3
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • [ɪksˈkʰɹʷʊu̯ʃɪi̯ˌeɪ̯ɾɪŋ]
  • [ɪksˈkʰɹʷʊu̯ʃɪi̯ˌeɪ̯tʰɪŋ]

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meaning

  1. Causing great pain or anguish, agonizing

More examples

In context

  • When he at last opened his eyes, he was conscious of nothing but an excruciating pain through his temples. He was vaguely aware of unfamiliar surroundings.

  • Sagan faced an excruciating dilemma: Should he remain true to his naturalistic philosophy and reject the marrow graft as something acquired by immoral means? Or should he agree to undergo the medical treatment in hope of saving his life

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The headache was so blank that she could barely open her eyes.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

Present participle of excruciate, from Latin excruciō, from ex- + cruciō (“to torment”).