Meaning & use
Excruciating
Last updated
Intensely painful, either physically or mentally; extremely distressing.
See it in a sentence
She felt an excruciating pain in her back after the fall.
The wait for the exam results was excruciating.
A note on using this word
The word comes from the Latin "excruciare," meaning "to torture," ultimately related to "crux," meaning "cross"—a reference to crucifixion.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
painlesssoothing
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