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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of agonize
Home buyers and real estate agents agonize over the mortgage rate forecast and whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.
—
Bill Conerly, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Back in March, Democrats agonized for days over whether to supply the votes needed to allow a G.O.P.-written stopgap spending measure to move ahead.
—New York Times, 25 July 2025
On Capitol Hill, the House muscled through several new cryptocurrency bills, while the Senate agonized over a $9 billion rescissions package for foreign aid and public media before ultimately sending it to Trump for a signature.
—Miriam Waldvogel, The Hill, 19 July 2025
Too many engineers agonize over which JavaScript framework to learn or which AutoCAD toolset to master.
—IEEE Spectrum, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for agonize
Bill Conerly, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Back in March, Democrats agonized for days over whether to supply the votes needed to allow a G.O.P.-written stopgap spending measure to move ahead.
—New York Times, 25 July 2025
On Capitol Hill, the House muscled through several new cryptocurrency bills, while the Senate agonized over a $9 billion rescissions package for foreign aid and public media before ultimately sending it to Trump for a signature.
—Miriam Waldvogel, The Hill, 19 July 2025
Too many engineers agonize over which JavaScript framework to learn or which AutoCAD toolset to master.
—IEEE Spectrum, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for agonize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agonize
Verb
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The decree eliminated many of the civil liberties in Germany, opening the way for the Nazis to persecute their opponents.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
9 Sep. 2025
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More and more, people who have loyally served Putin’s system are being persecuted, mainly on the grounds of corruption.—
ANDREI KOLESNIKOV,
Foreign Affairs,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Fox News personality wrote on social media to grieve Kirk’s death.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Sep. 2025
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Devon Mostert, the wife of NFL running back Raheem Mostert, grieved the assassination of conservative political influencer Charlie Kirk on Wednesday.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Tigers have been plagued by poor starting pitching, a thin bullpen and an offense that hasn’t played with the same spark since the All-Star break.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Aligning With San Francisco’s Health Care Security Ordinance San Francisco’s Health Care Security Ordinance was designed to expand access, but the system has long been plagued by complexity.—
Chelsea Davis,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Friends and coworkers continue to mourn her loss, remembering her optimism and generosity.—
Amanda Castro
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
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Donatella Versace, Milan’s mayor Giuseppe Sala and film directors Gabriele Salvatores and Giuseppe Tornatore were also among the crowds of people mourning.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Those who dismissed intersectionality saw such policies as little more than allowing the disadvantaged to commit crimes without consequences to make up for past inequities, afflicting crime victims from the same disadvantaged communities.—
John Scott Lewinski,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
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Griffin, who does clinical work in Long Island, New York, said his sister-in-law is in her 40s and quite wary of long COVID, the enduring, debilitating health issues that have afflicted millions of Americans who contracted the coronavirus.—
Jorge L. Ortiz,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Korean maestro Park Chan-wook’s wildly inventive black comedy No Other Choice was possibly the festival favorite with critics, while Yorgos Lanthimos’ bonkers Bugonia and Sorrentino’s aching La Grazia were also celebrated as exquisite returns to form.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Sep. 2025
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Her endlessly inventive vocal approach and aching tenderness with ballads earned her a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master designation in 2012.—
Duante Beddingfield,
Freep.com,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Consequently, the unit’s members film themselves torturing and executing Palestinians.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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The number paid respects to Matthew Shepard, a gay man who was tortured and killed because of his sexuality in 1998.—
Natasha Dye,
PEOPLE,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Andy sighed, shuddering between them.—
Bryan Washington,
New Yorker,
7 Sep. 2025
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And while many might be reluctant to close the time capsule door on their beloved skinnies, some of us are sighing with relief that the current denim trend is comfy enough for travel.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Agonize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agonize. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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