Definition

1. Verb (intransitive):

   • To suffer extreme physical pain or mental distress; to experience intense agony or anguish.
   • To worry or struggle deeply and anxiously about a decision or problem.

2. Verb (transitive):

   • To cause someone to suffer extreme mental distress or anguish; to torment.

Usage

• Intransitive Use: The subject experiences the suffering.
  • She agonized over the decision for weeks.
  • The patient agonized in pain before the medication took effect.
• Transitive Use: The subject causes the suffering in someone else (less common).
  • The thought of failing his family agonized him.

Examples

• Intransitive:
  • I agonized about which university to choose.
  • He agonizes over every detail, making him a perfectionist.
• Transitive:
  • The uncertainty of the future agonized the entire community.
  • It agonizes a parent to see their child suffer.

Advanced Usage

• "agonize over/about": This is the most common construction, indicating the subject of deep worry or mental struggle.
  • Managers often agonize over budget cuts.
  • Don't agonize about things you cannot change.

Variants and Related Words

• Agonizing (adjective): Causing great physical or mental pain.
  • Waiting for the test results was an agonizing experience.
• Agonized (adjective): Expressing or showing agony.
  • She let out an agonized cry.
• Agony (noun): Extreme physical or mental suffering.
  • The injury caused him immense agony.

Synonyms

• Anguish: To suffer severe mental distress.
• Torment: To cause severe suffering.
• Wrestle: To struggle mentally with a problem (e.g., ).
• Fret: To be constantly worried about something.

Phrasal Verbs / Common Constructions

• Agonize over: To worry excessively about something.
  • He tends to agonize over minor mistakes.
• Agonize about: Similar to "agonize over," used with the cause of worry.
  • She agonized about what to wear to the interview.

Related Idioms

• To be in agony: To be in a state of extreme suffering.
  • He was in agony after the accident.
• Pains of (related conceptually): The struggles involved in a process.
  • She documented the pains of writing her first novel.

Verb

1. suffer agony or anguish
2. cause to agonize