Ăg'o-ny, n.

n. [Gr. ἀγωνία, contest, struggle for victory, struggle of the mind, anguish; Fr. agonie, L. Lat. agonia. See AGON and AGONIZE.]

1. Violent contest or striving. “Agony of love till now not felt.” Milton.
2. Pain so extreme as to cause writhing or contortions of the body, similar to those made in the athletic contests in Greece; and hence, extreme pain of body or mind; anguish; specifically, the sufferings of our Saviour in the garden of Gethsemane.

Being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly. Luke xxii. 44. Syn.—Anguish; torment; throe; distress; pangs; suffering.—AGONY, ANGUISH, PANG. These words agree in expressing extreme pain of body or mind. Agony denotes acute and permanent pain, usually of the whole system, and often producing contortions. Anguish denotes severe pressure, and, considered as bodily suffering, is more commonly local (as the anguish of a wound), thus differing from agony. A pang is a paroxysm of excruciating pain. The agonies of death; the anguish of a diseased limb; the pangs of dissolution. The agonies or pangs of remorse; the anguish of a wounded conscience.