1
as in to persecute
to cause persistent suffering to
got into more trouble, further agonizing her poor mother
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to grieve
to feel deep sadness or mental pain
agonized for days over whether she'd done the right thing
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of agonize
With two more days left in the Disney trip, Dreyer faced a decision plenty of parents have agonized over — cut the vacation short or push through?
—
Ryan Brennan, Sacbee.com, 13 Apr. 2026
Her ex-husband, a good father, refuses to move the boy to the town and Eden agonizes about taking the boy from his friends and school in the Twin Cities.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 12 Apr. 2026
Tyran Stokes, hailed as the top prospect in the high school class of 2026, has bounced up and down the West Coast, attending three different high schools in four years, while fans on Reddit scrutinize his performance and national media agonize over his oscillating college decision.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2026
Even a lot of contemporary fiction, where the scenario of characters agonizing over whether to have children has become quite common, defaults to a laconic style (very short paragraphs separated by empty space, for example) that channels the familiar wariness about lushness.
—Aaron Matz, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for agonize
Ryan Brennan, Sacbee.com, 13 Apr. 2026
Her ex-husband, a good father, refuses to move the boy to the town and Eden agonizes about taking the boy from his friends and school in the Twin Cities.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 12 Apr. 2026
Tyran Stokes, hailed as the top prospect in the high school class of 2026, has bounced up and down the West Coast, attending three different high schools in four years, while fans on Reddit scrutinize his performance and national media agonize over his oscillating college decision.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2026
Even a lot of contemporary fiction, where the scenario of characters agonizing over whether to have children has become quite common, defaults to a laconic style (very short paragraphs separated by empty space, for example) that channels the familiar wariness about lushness.
—Aaron Matz, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for agonize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agonize
Verb
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Biden weaponized Law Enforcement against his political opponent, while also persecuting many other innocent people.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
11 June 2026
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It's partially inspired by director Benjamin Christensen's research on the German text Malleus Maleficarum, a guide to witchcraft for inquisitors looking to persecute its perpetrators.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 June 2026
Verb
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The focus here is not on withholding information, but on safeguarding the dignity of a child and allowing a grieving family the space and privacy to heal.—
Jordana Comiter,
PEOPLE,
17 June 2026
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This country is grieving too many senseless and violent deaths and shootings.—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
17 June 2026
Verb
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The 31-year-old Andujar has been plagued by various injuries throughout an MLB career that began in 2018.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 June 2026
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Featuring guest star Liza Minnelli as a film noir-style actress whose show is being plagued by a series of murders and Kermit as a Bogart-like ’40s gumshoe, this episode won a special Raven Award from The Mystery Writers of America.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
13 June 2026
Verb
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All of these moments represent a public display of mourning for Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, after their tragic assassinations shocked the state last June.—
Caroline Cummings,
CBS News,
14 June 2026
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The funeral, burial and farewell events for Khamenei will occur between July 4 and 9 during Muharram, a traditional period of mourning in the Shiite Muslim calendar.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 June 2026
Verb
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Measles is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease caused by a virus that primarily and most severely afflicts children.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
8 June 2026
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Joyce said problems that afflict Washington require a deeper, more systematic change.—
Chase Hunter,
Mercury News,
3 June 2026
Verb
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But, as fans already know, that perky veneer is often a shroud over her aching vulnerability, which is spotlighted with intensity on her melodically mature third album, out now.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
12 June 2026
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The unconscious Moon in your 4th House of Home conjoins aching Chiron there, highlighting family patterns and house routines that need a kinder, more sustainable approach.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
11 June 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile, Harris welcomed her endorsement by Dick Cheney, who was not a very popular vice president but was a zealous defender of torturing Muslims.—
Ta-Nehisi Coates,
Vanity Fair,
15 June 2026
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Last year, a German court sentenced a Syrian doctor to life imprisonment for torture and war crimes in his Syrian homeland on Monday for killing two people and torturing nine in Syria between 2011 and 2012.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 June 2026
Verb
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The internet may be full of people who want to outlaw leaf blowers, but misophonic triggers tend to share a bodily quality, an aurally traceable culprit such as a person crunching or sighing.—
Sloane Crosley,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
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Also, remember that the avatar is reading your body language, eye contact, any kind of sighing or moaning.—
Phil Blair,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Agonize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agonize. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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