excruciating

  • 1excruciating — excruciating, agonizing, racking mean intensely and, usually, unbearably painful. All are commonly used as strong intensives and applied to pain, suffering, and torture. When used to qualify other things, they mean causing intense pain or… …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 2Excruciating — Ex*cru ci*a ting Torturing; racking. Excruciating pain. V. Knox. Excruciating fears. Bentley {Ex*cru ci*a ting*ly}, adv. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3excruciating — [eks kro͞o′shəmat′iŋ, ik skro͞o′shēāt΄iŋ] adj. 1. causing intense physical or mental pain; agonizing 2. intense or extreme [with excruciating attention to detail] excruciatingly adv …

    English World dictionary

  • 4excruciating — index caustic, insufferable, painful, severe Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …

    Law dictionary

  • 5excruciating — 1590s, prp. adj. from EXCRUCIATE (Cf. excruciate). Related: Excruciatingly …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 6excruciating — [adj] torturous, painful acute, agonizing, burning, chastening, consuming, exquisite, extreme, grueling, harrowing, insufferable, intense, piercing, punishing, racking, rending, searing, severe, sharp, shooting, stabbing, tearing, tormenting,… …

    New thesaurus

  • 7excruciating — ► ADJECTIVE 1) intensely painful. 2) very embarrassing, awkward, or tedious. DERIVATIVES excruciatingly adverb. ORIGIN from Latin excruciare torment , from crux a cross …

    English terms dictionary

  • 8excruciating — [[t]ɪkskru͟ːʃieɪtɪŋ[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED (emphasis) If you describe something as excruciating, you are emphasizing that it is extremely painful, either physically or emotionally. I was in excruciating pain and one leg wouldn t move... Her search… …

    English dictionary

  • 9excruciating — excruciatingly, adv. /ik skrooh shee ay ting/, adj. 1. extremely painful; causing intense suffering; unbearably distressing; torturing: an excruciating noise; excruciating pain. 2. exceedingly elaborate or intense; extreme: done with excruciating …

    Universalium

  • 10excruciating — ex|cru|ci|at|ing [ıkˈskru:ʃieıtıŋ] adj [Date: 1500 1600; Origin: excruciate to cause great pain to (16 21 centuries), from Latin excruciare, from cruciare to crucify , from crux cross ] 1.) extremely painful ▪ When I bend my arm, the pain is… …

    Dictionary of contemporary English