as in weeping
expressing or suggesting mourning
an anguished cry the military's explanation of the accident did nothing to console the anguished widow
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in plagued
to cause persistent suffering to
she was anguished by the fear that her sons would die in the war
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in grieved
to feel deep sadness or mental pain
I anguished over the loss of my father for years afterwards
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of anguished
Andy Biggs, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024
That look — eyes wide open in anguished disbelief — has become so familiar of late.
—Oliver Kay, The Athletic, 20 Dec. 2024
Perfect those words were, though, in their specific content of anguished grief.
—Hazlitt, 26 Nov. 2024
That means those bills will soon become law over his increasingly angry and anguished objections unless some lawmakers choose not to override the mayor who appears committed to playing out a losing hand.
—Harry Siegel, New York Daily News, 20 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for anguished
Adjective
At night, cries of coyotes left everyone concerned for the young cat family, and tragically one night a member of staff recalled hearing the anguished cries of the cats.
—Andy Biggs, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024
That look — eyes wide open in anguished disbelief — has become so familiar of late.
—Oliver Kay, The Athletic, 20 Dec. 2024
Perfect those words were, though, in their specific content of anguished grief.
—Hazlitt, 26 Nov. 2024
That means those bills will soon become law over his increasingly angry and anguished objections unless some lawmakers choose not to override the mayor who appears committed to playing out a losing hand.
—Harry Siegel, New York Daily News, 20 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for anguished
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anguished
Adjective
-
And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.—
David Mamet,
National Review,
11 Aug. 2022
-
The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
-
Brown’s sound design mixes Sousa-like military fanfares with mournful underscoring for Lavinia’s tragedy, neither of which has much to do with Kidwell’s preshow music.—
Emily McClanathan,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Feb. 2025
-
Chaos quickly unfolds when the bickering, different-strokes twins find the calamitous heirloom—although Perkins keeps the first act mostly mournful, as the boys struggle with the onslaught of death around them.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
21 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
For example, the same researchers at Cornell University who invented the new goggles have previously shown a reduction in blood flow in the brains of mice afflicted with the condition.—
Michael Franco,
New Atlas,
29 Dec. 2024
-
Terrified, the patient almost reflexively asked her surgeon to remove both of her breasts, even though the cancer afflicted only one side.—
Angie Leventis Lourgos,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
Also Thursday, people mourned eight Palestinians killed by Israeli military operations in and around the city of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.—
Josef Federman and Wafaa Shurafa,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Dec. 2024
-
And yet, 32 games later, the transaction is barely mourned and hardly mentioned.—
John Romano,
Orlando Sentinel,
26 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Boldt hired 300 workers to construct the six-story, 120-room castle outfitted with a drawbridge and tower, but when Louise died suddenly in 1904, the heartbroken Boldt halted construction and never returned to the island.—
Gulnaz Khan,
AFAR Media,
13 Feb. 2025
-
There are similar Valentine’s Day opportunities geared toward the heartbroken.—
Megan Forrester,
ABC News,
12 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Their son Donny attended to all of the funeral arrangements with the help of his wife Jan, a nurse, and his daughters Andrea and Alicia.—
Phil Potempa,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2025
-
The funeral mass in Quincy’s Sacred Heart Church will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
31 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
The bitter exchange was unlike any other in the Oval Office in modern times. 13:43 With Ukraine's future in the balance, a high-stakes meeting on Friday between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy devolved into a shouting match.—
Alexandra Hutzler,
ABC News,
28 Feb. 2025
-
Their bond defies centuries of tradition, where vikings and dragons have been bitter enemies for generations.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
After jumping out to a 9-2 start this season, the Phoenix Suns have sputtered over the past month as injuries have besieged their Big Three.—
Bryan Toporek,
Forbes,
26 Dec. 2024
-
The wealthiest man in the world used his social media platform X to amplify the unrest, and GOP lawmakers were besieged with phone calls to their offices telling them to oppose the plan.—
Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking,
The Christian Science Monitor,
20 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Anguished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anguished. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share