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Agony

 - 5 dictionary results

ag⋅o⋅ny

  [ag-uh-nee]
Use Agony in a Sentence
–noun, plural -nies.
1. extreme and generally prolonged pain; intense physical or mental suffering.
2. a display or outburst of intense mental or emotional excitement: an agony of joy.
3. the struggle preceding natural death: mortal agony.
4. a violent struggle.
5. (often initial capital letter) Theology. the sufferings of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME agonye (< AF) < LL agōnia < Gk, equiv. to agn agon + -ia -y 3

Synonyms:
1. anguish, torment, torture. See pain. 2. paroxysm.

Antonyms:
1. comfort, ease, pleasure.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ag·o·ny   (āg'ə-nē)   
n.   pl. ag·o·nies

  1. The suffering of intense physical or mental pain.

  2. The struggle that precedes death.

  3. A sudden or intense emotion: an agony of doubt.

  4. A violent, intense struggle.


[Middle English agonie, from Old French, from Late Latin agōnia, from Greek agōniā, from agōn, struggle, from agein, to drive; see ag- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

agony 
1382, "mental suffering" (esp. that of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane), from L.L. agonia, from Gk. agonia "a (mental) struggle for victory," originally "a struggle for victory in the games," from agon "assembly for a contest," from agein "to lead" (see act). Sense of "extreme bodily suffering" first recorded 1607. Agonize (1583) was originally transitive as well as intrans., and sometimes meant "to torture."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ag·o·ny
Pronunciation: 'ag-&-nE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -nies
1 : intense pain ofmind or body
2 : the struggle that precedes death
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Bible Dictionary

Agony

contest; wrestling; severe struggling with pain and suffering. Anguish is the reflection on evil that is already past, while agony is a struggle with evil at the time present. It is only used in the New Testament by Luke (22:44) to describe our Lord's fearful struggle in Gethsemane. The verb from which the noun "agony" is derived is used to denote an earnest endeavour or striving, as "Strive [agonize] to enter" (Luke 13:24); "Then would my servants fight" [agonize] (John 18:36). Comp. 1 Cor. 9:25; Col. 1:29; 4:12; 1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7, where the words "striveth," "labour," "conflict," "fight," are the renderings of the same Greek verb.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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