anguish

an-guish · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    Severe mental or physical pain or suffering; extreme distress.

  2. 2.

    (verb) To suffer or cause to suffer extreme pain or distress.

Forms

plural: anguishes

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    cries of anguish — Sounds expressing extreme distress.
  • •
    in anguish — Experiencing severe mental or physical pain.
  • •
    anguished cry — A cry expressing deep distress.

Related words

Antonyms: comfort, joy, peace, relief
See also: agony, distress, pain, suffering
Synonyms: agony, distress, suffering, torment

Etymology

From Old French angoisse, from Latin angustia ("tightness, distress"), from angustus ("narrow"). Related to anxiety and angina, all sharing the Latin root concept of constriction or tightness.