AGONY : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: AGONY	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for AGONY
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
agony n intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain; "an agony of doubt"; "the torments of the damned" Synonym(s): agony, torment, torture a state of acute pain Synonym(s): agony, suffering, excruciation
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Agony \Ag"ony\, n.; pl. {Agonies}. [L. agonia, Gr. [?], orig. a contest, fr. [?]: cf. F. agonie. See {Agon}.] 1. Violent contest or striving. The world is convulsed by the agonies of great nations. --Macaulay. 2. Pain so extreme as to cause writhing or contortions of the body, similar to those made in the athletic contests in Greece; and hence, extreme pain of mind or body; anguish; paroxysm of grief; specifically, the sufferings of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane. Being in an agony* he prayed more earnestly. --Luke xxii. 44. 3. Paroxysm of joy; keen emotion. With cries and agonies of wild delight. --Pope. 4. The last struggle of life; death struggle. Syn: Anguish; torment; throe; distress; pangs; suffering. Usage: {Agony}, {Anguish}, {Pang}. These words agree in expressing extreme pain of body or mind. Agony denotes acute and permanent pain, usually of the whole system., and often producing contortions. Anguish denotes severe pressure, and, considered as bodily suffering, is more commonly local (as anguish of a wound), thus differing from agony. A pang is a paroxysm of excruciating pain. It is severe and transient. The agonies or pangs of remorse; the anguish of a wounded conscience. [bd]Oh, sharp convulsive pangs of agonizing pride![b8] --Dryden.
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:
Agony contest; wrestling; severe struggling with pain and suffering. Anguish is the reflection on evil that is already past, while agony is a struggle with evil at the time present. It is only used in the New Testament by Luke (22:44) to describe our Lord's fearful struggle in Gethsemane. The verb from which the noun "agony" is derived is used to denote an earnest endeavour or striving, as "Strive [agonize] to enter" (Luke 13:24); "Then would my servants fight" [agonize] (John 18:36). Comp. 1 Cor. 9:25; Col. 1:29; 4:12; 1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7, where the words "striveth," "labour," "conflict," "fight," are the renderings of the same Greek verb.