1
as in wrenching
intensely or unbearably painful
he finally visited the doctor when the pain became too excruciating to ignore
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2
as in searing
difficult to endure
the excruciating heat that the settlers faced as they crossed the deserts of the Southwest
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in painful
hard to accept or bear especially emotionally
most excruciating of all was the endless wait for news of any survivors of the plane crash
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4
as in intense
extreme in degree, power, or effect
the excruciating grief they felt upon the loss of their dear grandfather
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as in plaguing
to cause persistent suffering to
she has long been excruciated by an undiagnosed pain in her knee
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of excruciating
Benjamin Svetkey, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Feb. 2025
In late 2019, sudden, excruciating pain in my pelvis sent me to the emergency room.
—Katrina Martin, Health, 4 Mar. 2025
The finish is long on the palate with an excruciating persistence of coal and extinguished forest fire.
—Emily Price, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
For a while the shock and adrenaline take over and mask the pain but then in the ambulance ride every single bump in the road was excruciating ...
—Sam Blum, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for excruciating
Adjective
Wolff recounts in excruciating detail Murdoch’s attempts to rekindle their old magic.
—Benjamin Svetkey, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Feb. 2025
In late 2019, sudden, excruciating pain in my pelvis sent me to the emergency room.
—Katrina Martin, Health, 4 Mar. 2025
The finish is long on the palate with an excruciating persistence of coal and extinguished forest fire.
—Emily Price, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
For a while the shock and adrenaline take over and mask the pain but then in the ambulance ride every single bump in the road was excruciating ...
—Sam Blum, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for excruciating
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excruciating
Adjective
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Last year, Love penned a searing op-ed in The Guardian about the lack of female artists in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
5 Mar. 2025
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If Demi Moore wasn’t going to win for her career-reviving performance in the horror satire The Substance, then surely British voters would reward Marianne Jean-Baptiste for her searing depiction of depression in Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths.—
Sarah Crompton,
Vogue,
17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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For Senate Democrats, the GOP plan is painful to swallow.—
Philip Elliott,
TIME,
12 Mar. 2025
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Like witnessing a bad car crash, Ye’s (formerly known as Kanye West) latest episodes of hate speech and misogyny have been painful to watch and continue to elicit shock and dismay from every corner of the entertainment world.—
David Renzer,
Rolling Stone,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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An intense look at the world of competitive bodybuilding and remake of a Argentine thriller top our roundup of this week’s new films.—
Randy Myers,
The Mercury News,
20 Mar. 2025
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Already, court challenges against the president’s latest moves are emerging, and intense mainstream media coverage has, of course, cast what he’s done in a highly negative light.—
The Editors,
National Review,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The crane-hunt proposal reminds some observers of Wisconsin’s torturous experience with approving a mourning dove hunt a generation ago.—
Andrew McKean,
Outdoor Life,
17 Jan. 2025
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The Lombardi is more Holy Grail than trophy, the end of what can only be described as a torturous emotional pilgrimage.—
Ali Watkins,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The opening weekend miss for what was a very buzzy Sundance title back in 2023 about a troubled but ambitious bodybuilder follows controversy around its star and comes at a tough time for indie films in general.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
23 Mar. 2025
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As long as Flagg is on the floor, the Blue Devils will be a tough out.—
Tobias Bass,
The Athletic,
23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Each of our pieces is a symbol of resilience, proving that creativity can thrive even under the harshest circumstances.—
Gemma A. Williams,
Forbes,
12 Mar. 2025
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Five years ago this week, the television industry rose to the challenge of keeping news, daytime and late-night talk shows and other topical series on the air during the harsh early months of the COVID pandemic.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Our only leverage were the ongoing national-level intensive negotiations over the NAFTA environmental side-accords.—
Serge Dedina,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 Mar. 2025
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Finding and synthesizing that data would be both labor intensive and expensive for the district to do itself.—
Jennah Pendleton,
Sacramento Bee,
14 Mar. 2025
Verb
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An audacious plan In the mid-1980s, global health agencies were otherwise occupied and heads of state largely overlooked the illness afflicting millions of their citizens.—
Sam Mednick,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Dec. 2024
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The United States now suffers from twin pathologies—one afflicting the health of its citizens and the other the health of its political system.—
Thomas J. Bollyky,
Foreign Affairs,
30 Jan. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Excruciating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excruciating. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025.
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