agonize
/ˈæɡ.ɪ.naɪz/
"agonize" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“agonize” is an uncommon English word, ranked #80,158 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #80,158
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | agonize |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈæɡ.ɪ.naɪz/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #80,158 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “agonize” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for agonize is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈæɡ.ɪ.naɪz/. Corpus data places it at rank #80,158 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No generated misspelling entries exist for agonize in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French agoniser, from Late Latin agonizare, from Ancient Greek ἀγωνίζομαι (agōnízomai, “to fight, contend”). See agony. The correct English form is agonize, spelled A-G-O-N-I-Z-E.
Definition
- 1To writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish.
- 2To struggle; to wrestle; to strive desperately, whether mentally or physically.
- 3To cause agony or anguish in someone.
- 4To act as an agonist upon; to combine with a receptor on a cell to produce a physiological reaction.
Etymology
From French agoniser, from Late Latin agonizare, from Ancient Greek ἀγωνίζομαι (agōnízomai, “to fight, contend”). See agony.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
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Using “agonize”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-G-O-N-I-Z-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈæɡ.ɪ.naɪz/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.