Agonisingly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a fashion that elicits significant pain or distress To a level that provokes deep emotional turmoil or physical discomfort In a manner that creates extensive and enduring suffering or anguish
2. Done in a manner that brings about extreme physical or emotional torment
3. Performed so as to produce severe anguish or discomfort

Etymology: Agonisingly is a straightforward formation: the adverb built from "agonising" plus the suffix "-ly". The adjective "agonising" comes from the verb "agonise", which goes back to Greek "agōnizesthai", meaning to struggle for a prize in the games or to contend in a contest, from "agōn", a contest or gathering. The sense of contest narrowed over the centuries into the physical struggle of a dying person, and then into intense pain of any kind. The suffix does most of the work in the adverb. It descends from an ancient word meaning "body" or "form", which in Old English became "-lic" and then "-lice" and eventually "-ly". Attaching it to an adjective turns that adjective into a description of manner, so "agonisingly" describes how something is done, as in an agonisingly slow wait or an agonisingly long hour.

Synonyms: painfully, torturously, excruciatingly

Antonyms: comfortably, easily