Anguish

English

Etymology

From Old English anguishe, anguise, angoise, French angoisse, from Latin angustia (“narrowness, difficulty, distress”) from angustus (“narrow, difficult”) from angere (“to press together”). See angst, the Germanic cognate, and anger.

Pronunciation

enPR: ăngʹ-gwĭsh, IPA: /ˈæŋɡwɪʃ/, SAMPA: /"{NgwIS/

Noun

anguish (countable and uncountable; plural anguishes)

1.Extreme pain, either of body or mind; excruciating distress.

1889,Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles:

A terrible scream—a prolonged yell of horror and anguish—burst out of the silence of the moor. That frightful cry turned the blood to ice in my veins.

Synonyms

• agony, calvary, cross, pang, torture, torment

External Link

• Wikionary Article on Anguish