Adjacent Words

Anguish definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

AN'GUISH, n. [L. angustia, narrowness, from pressure. See Anger.]
Extreme pain, either of body or mind. As bodily pain, it may differ from agony, which is such distress of the whole body as to cause contortion, whereas anguish may be a local pain as of an ulcer, or gout. But anguish and agony are nearly synonymous. As pain of the mind, it signifies any keen distress from sorrow, remorse, despair and kindred passions.
And they hearkened not to Moses, for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage. Exodus 6.
AN'GUISH, v.t. To distress with extreme pain or grief.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: extreme mental distress [syn: anguish, torment, torture]
2: extreme distress of body or mind v
1: suffer great pains or distress
2: cause emotional anguish or make miserable; "It pains me to see my children not being taught well in school" [syn: pain, anguish, hurt]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English angwisshe, from Anglo-French anguisse, angoisse, from Latin angustiae, plural, straits, distress, from angustus narrow; akin to Old English enge narrow — more at anger Date: 13th century extreme pain, distress, or anxiety Synonyms: see sorrow II. verb Date: 14th century intransitive verb to suffer anguish transitive verb to cause to suffer anguish

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. severe misery or mental suffering. Etymology: ME f. OF anguisse choking f. L angustia tightness f. angustus narrow

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Anguish An"guish, n. [OE. anguishe, anguise, angoise, F. angoisse, fr. L. angustia narrowness, difficulty, distress, fr. angustus narrow, difficult, fr. angere to press together. See Anger.] Extreme pain, either of body or mind; excruciating distress. But they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage. --Ex. vi. 9. Anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child. --Jer. iv. 31. Note: Rarely used in the plural: Ye miserable people, you must go to God in anguishes, and make your prayer to him. --Latimer. Syn: Agony; pang; torture; torment. See Agony.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Anguish An"guish, v. t. [Cf. F. angoisser, fr. L. angustiare.] To distress with extreme pain or grief. [R.] --Temple.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Anguish is great mental suffering or physical pain. (WRITTEN) Mark looked at him in anguish.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

an'-gwish: Extreme distress of body, mind or spirit; excruciating pain or suffering of soul, e.g. excessive grief, remorse, despair. Chiefly expressed in Old Testament, by four derivatives of tsuq, "straitened," "pressed," and tsar, and two derivatives signifying "straitness," "narrowness," hence distress; also shabhats, "giddiness," "confusion of mind"; hul "to twist" with pain, "writhe." So in the New Testament, thlipsis, "a pressing together," hence affliction, tribulation, stenochoria, "narrowness of place," hence extreme affliction; sunoche, "a holding together," hence distress. The fundamental idea in these various terms is pressure--being straitened, compressed into a narrow place, or pain through physical or mental torture. Used of the physical agony of child-birth (Jer 4:31; 6:24; 49:24; 50:43; Joh 16:21); of distress of soul as the result of sin and wickedness (Job 15:24; Pr 1:27; Ro 2:9); of anguish of spirit through the cruel bondage of slavery (Ex 6:9) and Assyrian oppression (Isa 8:22); of the anxiety and pain of Christian love because of the sins of fellow-disciples (2Co 2:4).

Dwight M. Pratt

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Agony (especially of the mind), torment, torture, rack, pang, severe pain, extreme suffering, acute distress. See agony. II. v. a. Distress, torture. See agonize.

Moby Thesaurus

ache, aching heart, afflict, affliction, aggrieve, agonize, agony, agony of mind, ail, angst, anxiety, atrocious pain, bale, barb the dart, bitterness, blanch, bleed, bleeding heart, blench, boredom, break down, bring to tears, broken heart, bruise, care, carking care, cheerlessness, crucifixion, crush, crushing, cut, cut up, depression, depth of misery, desolate, desolation, despair, discomfort, discomposure, discontent, dislike, displeasure, disquiet, dissatisfaction, distress, disturb, dole, draw tears, dread, dullness, embitter, emptiness, ennui, excruciation, existential woe, extremity, feel pain, feel the pangs, flatness, go hard with, grief, grieve, grimace, grimness, have a misery, heartache, heartbreak, heartfelt grief, heartgrief, heavy heart, hurt, hurt the feelings, infelicity, inquietude, inundate, joylessness, lack of pleasure, lamentation, languishment, malaise, martyrdom, martyrization, melancholia, melancholy, misery, nausea, nongratification, nonsatisfaction, oppress, overwhelm, pain, painfulness, pang, pierce, pining, pound, prick, prostrate, prostration, rack, regret, rue, sadness, savorlessness, shoot, shrink, smart, sorrow, sorrowing, spleen, stab, staleness, sting, suffer, suffer anguish, suffering, suicidal despair, tastelessness, tediousness, tedium, thrill, throb, tingle, torment, torture, trouble, twinge, twist the knife, twitch, uncomfortableness, unease, uneasiness, unhappiness, unpleasure, unsatisfaction, upset, vexation of spirit, wince, woe, worry, wound, wretchedness, writhe