What does "anguish" mean?
Extreme pain, either of body or mind; excruciating distress.
Anguish
/ˈæŋ.ɡwɪʃ/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Extreme pain, either of body or mind; excruciating distress.
- Grammar: anguish is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: torment, ache, aching heart, acute sadness.
- Useful contrasts: assurance, bliss, blissus.
- Usage evidence: The newspaper told of the mother's anguish at the death of her son.
How to use "anguish"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "anguish" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "anguish" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "anguish" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "anguish" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "anguish" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "torment" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "anguish", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Extreme pain, either of body or mind; excruciating distress. countable, uncountable
"So, ye miserable people; you must go to God in anguishes, and make your prayer to him."
- 2 extreme mental distress wordnet
- 3 extreme distress of body or mind wordnet
Verb
- 1 To suffer pain. intransitive
"c. 1900s, Kl. Knigge, Iceland Folk Song, traditional, Harmony: H. Ruland We’re leaving these shores for our time has come, the days of our youth must now end. The hearts bitter anguish, it burns for the home that we’ll never see again."
- 2 cause emotional anguish or make miserable wordnet
- 3 To cause to suffer pain. transitive
- 4 suffer great pains or distress wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
"Edmund Anguish of Somerleighton"
- 2 A male given name. rare
"[…] been ready and willing to take one of the children by her husband, not being the eldest, to live with her; and that she did afterwards fix upon one of such children, named Anguish, and did request her husband to permit the said child to reside and live with her, […] and the defendant futher pleaded, that the said Anguish, the said child in the said declaration mentioned was not born at the time of the sealing and delivering of the said indenture, but long afterwards."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The newspaper told of the mother's anguish at the death of her son."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "anguish"?
Common synonyms include: torment, ache, aching heart, acute sadness, afflict, affliction.
How do you use "anguish" in a sentence?
The newspaper told of the mother's anguish at the death of her son.
How do you pronounce "anguish"?
Pronounced /ˈæŋ.ɡwɪʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English angwissh, anguishe, angoise, from Anglo-Norman anguise, anguisse, from Old French angoisse, from Latin angustia (“narrowness, scarcity, difficulty, distress”), from angustus (“narrow, difficult”), from angere (“to press together, cause pain, distress”). See angst, the Germanic cognate, and anger.
Etymology 2
From Middle English angwischen, anguis(s)en, from Old French angoissier, anguissier, from the noun (see Etymology 1).
Etymology 3
The given name, most famously borne by the character of King Anguish of Ireland, is thought to be a variant of Aengus/Angus, from Irish. The surname is probably also a variant of Angus.