Meanings
nounagony (countable and uncountable, plural agonies)
plural agonies
- countableuncountablebiblicalThe sufferings of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane (often capitalized).
And being in an agonie, he prayed more earneſtly,[…].
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 22:44, column 1 - countabledateduncountableViolent contest or striving.
The world is convulsed by the agonies of great nations.
1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter X, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC - countabledateduncountableParoxysm of joy; keen emotion.
With cries and agonies of wild delight.
1725, Homer, “Book X”, in [Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume III, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC - countableuncountableThe last struggle of life; death struggle.
Synonyms & antonyms
antonym(s) of “extreme pain”
Opposite
nounintense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἀγωνία“emulation, competition, struggle”
- Englishagony
14th century, via Old French and Latin from Ancient Greek ἀγωνία (agōnía, “emulation, competition, struggle”), from ἀγών (agṓn, “contest”). Specifically of the struggle that precedes death (mortal agony) from the 1540s. By surface analysis, agon + -y. The sense of "extreme pain" from c. 1600.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic أَلَم, اِحْتِضَار
- أَلَم (ʔalam)extreme pain
- اِحْتِضَار (iḥtiḍār)last struggle of life
Basque hiltamu, hilzori
- hiltamuextreme pain
- hilzoriextreme pain
Bulgarian мъ́ки, гъ́рчене
- мъ́ки (mắki)extreme pain
- гъ́рчене (gắrčene)extreme pain
- аго́ния (agónija)extreme pain
- аго́ния (agónija)last struggle of life
Catalan agonia
- agoniaextreme pain
Chinese Mandarin 极大的痛苦, 苦恼
- 极大的痛苦extreme pain
- 苦恼 (kǔnǎo)violent contest or striving
- 烦闷 (fánmèn)violent contest or striving
- （感情的） 迸发paroxysm of joy
- 临死的挣扎last struggle of life
Dutch ondraaglijke pijn, doodsangst
- ondraaglijke pijnextreme pain
- doodsangstviolent contest or striving
- doodsstrijdviolent contest or striving
- agonieviolent contest or striving
- doodsstrijdlast struggle of life
- agonielast struggle of life
Esperanto angoro, dolorego
- angoroextreme pain
- doloregoextreme pain
Finnish tuska, tuska
- tuskaextreme pain
- tuskaBible: sufferings of Jesus Christ in the garden of Gethsemane
- kamppailuviolent contest or striving
- taisteluviolent contest or striving
- huumaparoxysm of joy
- kuolinkamppailulast struggle of life
- agonialast struggle of life
French agonie, angoisse
- agonieextreme pain
- angoisseextreme pain
- agonieviolent contest or striving
- agonielast struggle of life
German Agonie, Qual
- Agonieextreme pain
- Qualextreme pain
- Peinextreme pain
- Qualviolent contest or striving
- Todeskampfviolent contest or striving
- Freudenausbruchparoxysm of joy
- Agonielast struggle of life
- Todeskampflast struggle of life
Greek οδύνη, μαρτύριο
- οδύνη (odýni)extreme pain
- μαρτύριο (martýrio)extreme pain
- επιθανάτια αγωνία (epithanátia agonía)last struggle of life
Hebrew יִסּוּרִים
- יִסּוּרִים (yissurím)extreme pain
Hungarian haláltusa
- haláltusalast struggle of life
Icelandic kvöl, þjáning
- kvölextreme pain
- þjáningextreme pain
- kvölviolent contest or striving
- þjáningviolent contest or striving
Italian dolore, angoscia
- doloreextreme pain
- angosciaextreme pain
- agoniaviolent contest or striving
- parossismoparoxysm of joy
- agonialast struggle of life
Māori mamae inati
- mamae inatiextreme pain
Polish agonia
- agonialast struggle of life
Portuguese agonia, agonia
- agoniaextreme pain
- agoniaviolent contest or striving
- agonialast struggle of life
Romanian agonie, suferință
- agonieextreme pain
- suferințăextreme pain
- agonieviolent contest or striving
- agonielast struggle of life
Russian страда́ние, аго́ния
- страда́ние (stradánije)extreme pain
- аго́ния (agónija)extreme pain
- аго́ния (agónija)violent contest or striving
- вы́плеск эмо́ций (výplesk emócij)paroxysm of joy
- аго́ния (agónija)last struggle of life
Spanish agonía, angustia
- agoníaextreme pain
- angustiaextreme pain
- agoníaviolent contest or striving
- agoníalast struggle of life
Swahili dhiki
- dhikiextreme pain
Swedish vånda, kval
- våndaextreme pain
- kvalviolent contest or striving
- dödskamplast struggle of life
Tagalog hingalo, paghihingalo
- hingalolast struggle of life
- paghihingalolast struggle of life
Turkish acı, ızdırap
- acıextreme pain
- ızdırapextreme pain
- kıvranmaextreme pain
- kıvranmaparoxysm of joy
- kıvranmalast struggle of life
- can çekişmelast struggle of life
Ukrainian аго́нія
- аго́нія (ahónija)last struggle of life
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
agony. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agony
MLA
“agony.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agony. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “agony,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agony.
Source: agony on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.