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
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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
Christian Wiman, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
With each warning comes a small heartbreak and each mile an excruciating decision.
—Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 30 Dec. 2025
The incident occurred early Sunday morning and appeared to be a random attack that reportedly caused a couple excruciating pain.
—Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 12 Dec. 2025
Indeed, when the pains became excruciating, Dickerson headed to the hospital to get checked out.
—Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for excruciating
Adjective
Another reason, though, is that on this side of death an experience of God’s presence is terrible, in the biblical sense, and followed by an excruciating sense of absence.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for excruciating
Adjective
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Warfare Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare is an admirable attempt to counter the truism that there’s no such thing as an anti-war movie — that all war movies, however gruesome or wrenching, effectively (and often unwittingly) wind up glamorizing combat to some degree.—
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One particularly wrenching moment in the film made an impression on her stepfather, Kurt Russell.—
Adjective
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Sophomore Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser, whose searing opening monologue had everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio to Julia Roberts taking jabs in stride.—
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For the ceremony, Lawrence wore a searing red gown designed by Raf Simons during his stint at the house of Dior.—
Adjective
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Proper skin preparation is key to making your wax sessions less painful.—
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The high fevers, hospitalizations, and dehydration that these illnesses cause can be painful and disruptive—and, with vaccines, avoidable.—
Adjective
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Fan Kelly Terzis described her feelings as intense sadness and grief, but also gratitude.—
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The study made a significant contribution, if not clarification, to this academic niche — medieval migration wasn’t seasonal, nor sporadic and intense.—
Verb
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Both cases are apt to serve as models for how to prevent the kind of school shootings still plaguing the nation and could set legal precedent for who shoulders the blame when children have access to guns and open fire on campus.—
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The Live With Kelly and Mark talk show hostess seemingly hasn't known peace on the scariest day of the year for quite some time, but not because of ghosts and ghoulies plaguing her — but, rather, ungrateful neighbors who consistently complain about her Halloween candy.—
Adjective
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September 22 Lucas Museum opens After a long, semi-torturous process, George Lucas’s grand vision for a public museum containing an impressive collection of paintings, drawings, and film memorabilia will finally come to fruition.—
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During this increasingly torturous adjustment period, Millie learns Nina spent some time in a psychiatric facility years earlier after allegedly leaving Cece to drown in a bathtub and taking enough pills to kill herself.—
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This leads to families having to make tough decisions, said Cindy Kincaid, family caregiver program manager at Centralina Regional Council.—
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She's been amazing, a sort of brutal support, tough lover, very educational.—
Adjective
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Bipartisan harsh criticism Senators from both sides of the aisle blasted the investigation.—
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Common exfoliators and fine line-eliminators like retinol and glycolic acid are too harsh on my skin, but this serum utilizes lactic acid, which is far more gentle but just as potent.—
Cite this Entry
“Excruciating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excruciating. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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