Experiencing intense emotional or physical suffering, often involving a struggle between conflicting feelings or desires. Suggests pain that involves both suffering and internal conflict.
From Greek 'agon' (contest, struggle), through Latin 'agonizare' (to struggle). Originally described the physical struggle of athletic competition, later extended to describe internal emotional struggles and the pain they cause.
The word 'agonized' captures something unique about human suffering - unlike simple pain, agony involves conscious awareness and often moral conflict, engaging our most sophisticated brain regions in a way that can make emotional pain more intense than physical pain!
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