anguished

adjective

an·​guished ˈaŋ-gwisht 

1

: suffering anguish : tormented

the anguished martyrs

2

: expressing anguish : agonized

anguished cries

Synonyms

• aching
• agonized
• bemoaning
• bewailing
• bitter
• deploring
• doleful
• dolesome
• dolorous
• funeral
• grieving
• heartbroken
• lamentable
• lugubrious
• mournful
• plaintive
• plangent
• regretful
• rueful
• sorrowful
• sorry
• wailing
• weeping
• woeful

Examples of anguished in a Sentence

the military's explanation of the accident did nothing to console the anguished widow

Recent Examples on the Web

That means those bills will soon become law over his increasingly angry and anguished objections unless some lawmakers choose not to override the mayor who appears committed to playing out a losing hand. —Harry Siegel, New York Daily News, 20 Jan. 2024

An anguished call from a Los Gatos pediatrician about a malnourished infant in late 1974 spurred Teresa Asquith into action and brought Mothers’ Milk Bank California into reality. —Sal Pizarro, The Mercury News, 15 Oct. 2024

What was once an anguished whim or a distant wish, which had turned into ravaging despair, has now turned into an irrevocable demand for fundamental political change and freedom. —Ali Vaez, Foreign Affairs, 2 Feb. 2023

Ras read an anguished poem at her funeral, praising her bravery. —Kelefa Sanneh, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English anguysched, from past participle of anguischen "to anguish entry 2"

First Known Use

1570, in the meaning defined at sense 1