Thesaurus
excruciating
adjective
Synonyms and Antonyms of EXCRUCIATING
1
intensely or unbearably painful <those who publicly disagreed with the government were subjected to excruciating torture>
2
difficult to endure <the excruciating heat that the settlers faced as they crossed the deserts of the Southwest>
Synonyms bitter, brutal, burdensome, cruel, excruciating, grievous, grim, hard, hardhanded, heavy, inhuman, murderous, onerous, oppressive, rough, rugged, searing, severe, stiff, tough, trying
Related Words austere, bleak, comfortless, discomforting, forbidding, inhospitable, spartan, uncomfortable; biting, inclement, intemperate, wild; rigorous, strict, stringent; agonizing, heartbreaking, heartrending, painful, wretched; crushing, grinding, overwhelming, wearing; insufferable, insupportable, intolerable, unbearable, unendurable; harrowing, tortuous; bad, disagreeable, hostile, unfriendly, unpleasant
3
hard to accept or bear especially emotionally <most excruciating of all was the endless wait for news of any survivors of the plane crash>
Synonyms afflicting, agonizing, cruel, excruciating, galling, grievous, harrowing, harsh, heartrending, hurtful, painful, tormenting, torturous
Related Words insufferable, insupportable, intolerable, unacceptable, unbearable, unendurable, unsupportable; appalling, awful, bad, dire, dreadful, ghastly, horrible, miserable, nasty, rotten, severe, terrible, vile, wretched; acute, extreme, intense, piercing
Near Antonyms bearable, endurable, supportable, sustainable, tolerable; livable (also liveable), sufferable, survivable; acceptable, allowable, reasonable
4
extreme in degree, power, or effect <the excruciating grief they felt upon the loss of their child>
Synonyms acute, almighty, blistering, deep, dreadful, excruciating, explosive, exquisite, fearful, fearsome, ferocious, fierce, frightful, furious, ghastly, hard, heavy, heavy-duty, hellacious, intensive, keen, profound, terrible, vehement, vicious, violent
Related Words accentuated, aggravated, concentrated, deepened; emphasized, enhanced, heightened, intensified, magnified; stressed; exhaustive, thorough; harsh, rigorous, severe
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