Anguish

Pronunciation

• enPR: ăngʹ-gwÄ­sh, IPA: /ˈæŋɡwɪʃ/

Origin

Middle English anguishe, angoise, from Anglo-Norman anguise, anguisse, from Old French angoisse, from Latin angustia ("narrowness, difficulty, distress"), from angustus ("narrow, difficult"), from angere ("to press together"). See angst, the Germanic cognate, and anger.

Full definition of anguish

Noun

1. Extreme pain, either of body or mind; excruciating distress.
• Bible, Exodus vi. 9But they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.
• LatimerYe miserable people, you must go to God in anguishes, and make your prayer to him.
• 1889,Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, :A terrible scream—a prolonged yell of horror and anguish—burst out of the silence of the moor. That frightful cry turned the blood to ice in my veins.

Synonyms

• agony, calvary, cross, pang, torture, torment
• See also:

Related terms

Verb

1. (intransitive) To suffer pain.
• unknown date 1900s, Kl. Knigge, Iceland Folk Song, traditional, Harmony: H. RulandWe’re leaving these shores for our time has come, the days of our youth must now end. The hearts bitter anguish, it burns for the home that we’ll never see again.
2. (transitive) To cause to suffer pain.