- to suffer or cause to suffer agony
- (intransitive) to make a desperate effort; struggle; strive
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
ag•o•nized
(ag′ə nīzd′),USA pronunciation adj.
ag•o•niz•ed•ly
(ag′ə nī′zid lē),USA pronunciation adv.
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026- involving or accompanied by agony or severe struggle:an agonized effort.
- 1575–85; agonize + -ed2
ag•o•nize /ˈægəˌnaɪz/USA pronunciation
v. [~ + over + object], -nized, -niz•ing.
ag•o•niz•ing, adj.: an agonizing decision.
ag•o•niz•ing•ly, adv. See -agon-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to suffer great pain, anguish, or anxiety, as by thinking about something continuously:They agonized every night over their decision.
ag•o•niz•ing, adj.: an agonizing decision.
ag•o•niz•ing•ly, adv. See -agon-.
ag•o•nize
(ag′ə nīz′),USA pronunciation v., -nized, -niz•ing.
v.i.
v.t.
v.i.
- to suffer extreme pain or anguish;
be in agony. - to put forth great effort of any kind.
v.t.
- to distress with extreme pain;
torture.
- Greek agōnízesthai to struggle (for a prize), equivalent. to agōn- agon + -izesthai -ize
- Medieval Latin agōnizāre
- 1575–85
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
agonize, agonise /ˈæɡəˌnaɪz/ vb