anguish
an·guish/ˈæŋ.ɡwɪʃ/noun, verb
anguish is spelled A-N-G-U-I-S-H: 7 letters and 2 syllables (an·guish). It appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, anguish means “Extreme pain, either of body or mind; excruciating distress; an emotional state caused by intense misery or suffering” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of anguish is anguishes.
How many letters and syllables are in anguish?
| Letters | 7: A-N-G-U-I-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: an·guish |
| In writing | 2.3 times per million words; the 17,813th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is anguish?
Anguish appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce anguish?
- /ˈæŋ.ɡwɪʃ/
- /ˈeɪ̯ŋ.ɡwɪʃ/
- /ˈɛ̃ŋ.ɡwɪʃ/
Anguish has 2 syllables, split an·guish in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-anguish.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of anguish
- anguishes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- anguishing participle, present
- anguished participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does anguish mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Extreme pain, either of body or mind; excruciating distress; an emotional state caused by intense misery or suffering.
It took years to overcome the anguish from my wife's death.
verb
- 1
To suffer pain.
c. 1900s, Kl. Knigge, Iceland Folk Song, traditional, Harmony: H. Ruland We’re leaving these shores for our time has come, the days of our youth must now end. The hearts bitter anguish, it burns for the home that we’ll never see again.
- 2
To cause to suffer pain.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Anguish in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | angoisse de la mort, affres de la mort, calvaire, croix |
| German | Kreuz, Agonie, Todesangst, Qual, tiefer Schmerz , sich quälen |
| Portuguese | agonia, angústia , angustiar-se , angustiar |
| Spanish | angustia, congoja , angustiarse , angustiar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does anguish come from?
From Middle English angwissh, anguishe, angoise, from Anglo-Norman anguise, anguisse, from Old French angoisse, from Latin angustia (“narrowness, scarcity, difficulty, distress”), from angustus (“narrow, difficult”), from angere (“to press together, cause pain, distress”). See angst, the Germanic cognate, and anger.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).