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Webster 1913 Edition

Anguish

An′guish

,
Noun.
[OE.
anguishe
,
anguise
,
angoise
, F.
angoisse
, fr. L.
angustia
narrowness, difficulty, distress, fr.
angustus
narrow, difficult, fr.
angere
to press together. See
Anger
.]
Extreme pain, either of body or mind; excruciating distress.
But they hearkened not unto Moses for
anguish
of spirit, and for cruel bondage.
Ex. vi. 9.
Anguish
as of her that bringeth forth her first child.
Jer. iv. 31.
Rarely used in the plural: –

Ye miserable people, you must go to God in
anguishes
, and make your prayer to him.
Latimer.
Syn. – Agony; pang; torture; torment. See
Agony
.

An′guish

,
Verb.
T.
[Cf. F.
angoisser
, fr. L.
angustiare
.]
To distress with extreme pain or grief.
[R.]
Temple.

Webster 1828 Edition

Anguish

AN'GUISH

,
Noun.
[L. angustia, narrowness, from pressure. See Anger.]
Extreme pain, either of body or mind. As bodily pain, it may differ from agony, which is such distress of the whole body as to cause contortion, whereas anguish may be a local pain as of an ulcer, or gout. But anguish and agony are nearly synonymous. As pain of the mind, it signifies any keen distress from sorrow, remorse, despair and kindred passions.
And they hearkened not to Moses, for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage. Ex. 6.

AN'GUISH

,
Verb.
T.
To distress with extreme pain or grief.

Definition 2024

anguish

anguish

English

Noun

anguish ‎(countable and uncountable, plural anguishes)

  1. Extreme pain, either of body or mind; excruciating distress.
    • Bible, Exodus vi. 9
      But they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.
    • Latimer
      Ye miserable people, you must go to God in anguishes, and make your prayer to him.
    • 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

Related terms

Translations

Verb

anguish ‎(third-person singular simple present anguishes, present participle anguishing, simple past and past participle anguished)

  1. (intransitive) To suffer pain.
    • (Can we date this quote?) 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. (transitive) To cause to suffer pain.

Translations

Etymology

Middle English anguishe, angoise, from Anglo-Norman anguise, anguisse, from Old 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(key): /ˈæŋ.ɡwɪʃ/

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