: a strong sudden display (as of joy or delight) : outburst
an agony of mirth
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In Ancient Greece, a public gathering was called agon. Since the Greeks placed a high value on sports and athletic competition, there were almost always athletic events at gatherings on festival days. The struggle to win the prize in such contests came to be called agonia. This term came also to be used for any difficult physical struggle and then for the pain that went with it—physical or mental. Our English word agony, meaning “intense pain of mind or body,” thus comes from a word that meant a happy celebration.
She was in terrible agony after breaking her leg.
The medicine relieves the agony of muscle cramps very quickly.
It was agony to watch him suffer like that.
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But playing with an already-strained right calf, the Oshkosh, Wis., native stepped awkwardly towards the basket and crumbled to the court in agony when his leg appeared to pop.—Sean Neumann, People.com, 24 June 2025 Finding alternatives that would end this agony would be one of American science’s most important achievements.—Rachel Fobar, Vox, 14 May 2025 And that gave him some kind of legitimacy after 40 years of agony, derided by the music press.—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 11 June 2025 For more than a year, the Perry family waited in agony for answers.—Christina Coulter, People.com, 7 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for agony
Word History
Etymology
Middle English agonie, borrowed from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French agonie, borrowed from Late Latin agōnia, borrowed from Greek agōnía "contest, struggle, anguish," from agṓn "gathering, assembly at games, contest for a prize" (derivative of ágein "to lead, drive") + -ia-y entry 2 — more at agent
Middle English agonie "agony," from Latin agonia (same meaning), from Greek agōnia "struggle," from agōn "gathering, contest for a prize"
Word Origin
In ancient Greece a public gathering was called agōn. Since the Greeks placed a high value on sports and athletic competition, there were almost always athletic events at gatherings on festival days. The struggle to win the prize in such contests came to be called agōnia. This term came also to be used for any difficult physical struggle and then for the pain that went with it, physical or mental. Our English word agony, meaning "intense pain of mind or body," thus comes from a word that originally meant a happy celebration.
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