Anguishedly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a way that demonstrates intense emotional pain and distress
2. Expressing deep suffering through actions or verbal communication
3. In a manner that reveals profound sorrow and torment

Etymology: "Anguishedly" is simply "anguished" with the adverb-forming suffix "-ly" added, and it means in great distress. "Anguished" is the past participle of "anguish," which has its own story: it came into English from Old French "anguisse," itself descended from the Latin "angustia," meaning narrowness or a tight place. The sense of physical constriction, of being squeezed, is still visible in the word's emotional meaning, since severe distress feels like being hemmed in. The suffix "-ly" is one of the oldest and most productive tools in English. It comes from Old English "-lic," a word meaning "body" or "form," so an adjective like "anguished" plus "-ly" describes a manner of acting, literally "in the form of" an anguished state. Because "anguished" itself is a participle used as an adjective, the adverb built on it is somewhat rarer than common forms like "happily," and it tends to appear in descriptions of how someone speaks, looks, or moves.

Synonyms: sorrowfully, painfully, distressingly, agonizingly, tormentedly

Antonyms: calmly, happily, composedly, cheerfully, serenely