Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

anguish

 - 3 dictionary results

an⋅guish

[ang-gwish]
–noun
1. excruciating or acute distress, suffering, or pain: the anguish of grief.
–verb (used with object)
2. to inflict with distress, suffering, or pain.
–verb (used without object)
3. to suffer, feel, or exhibit anguish: to anguish over the loss of a loved one.

Origin:
1175–1225; ME anguisse < OF < L angustia tight place, equiv. to angust(us) narrow + -ia -ia; cf. anxious; akin to anger


1. agony, torment, torture. See pain.


1. delight, comfort, relief.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To anguish
an·guish   (āng'gwĭsh)   
n.  Agonizing physical or mental pain; torment. See Synonyms at regret.
v.   an·guished, an·guish·ing, an·guish·es

v.   tr.
To cause to feel or suffer anguish.
v.   intr.
To feel or suffer anguish.

[Middle English angwisshe, from Old French anguisse, from Latin angustiae, distress, from angustus, narrow; see angh- 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.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

anguish 
c.1220, "acute bodily or mental suffering," from O.Fr. anguisse "choking sensation," from L. angustia "tightness, distress," from ang(u)ere "to throttle, torment" (see anger).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see anguish on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: