agonize

That gave staffers roughly a month to agonize over whether they would be on the list, some of them in public.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

Rather than agonize over how to restore the landscape to some former, unobtainable baseline of “natural,” officials unanimously agreed that this bold re-imagining of the coast was the best way forward among no perfect options.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2025

Refusing even a hint of introspection, she added: “We don’t agonize over what happened. We organize about what comes next.”

From Slate ● Nov. 15, 2024

When they wed, their fans swoon; when stars divorce, people agonize over what went wrong.

From Salon ● Jan. 5, 2024

Mom said when she and Dad visited him, Poppy would be hurting so much he could hardly talk, and Dad would agonize over it for days afterward.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

In 1415, on the eve of challenging France at the Battle of Agincourt, he agonizes about the moral burdens of kingship.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026

Miyazaki agonizes over the character of the Great Uncle who has built the fantastical world of the tower in “The Boy and The Heron.”

From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2024

She agonizes over the loss of her relationship with Mimi, perhaps the love of her life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2024

He agonizes over the decisions he made: Could he have saved more people?

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 14, 2023

Additional copies have been filed elsewhere for posterity and safekeeping, as the desk copies often meet such gruesome fates while Chandresh agonizes over every word.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

“I agonized for a long time over whether to keep that job,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

Faisuris Alvarez, who runs a beachside fish stand, agonized aloud over these questions without answers.

From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026

So for the new owner of a franchise that agonized for nearly 40 years before its first Super Bowl and another 12 until its second, the wait for a third championship could be considerably shorter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026

Kwangchul Youn was a mesmerizing storyteller as Gurnemanz; Brian Mulligan a poignant, agonized Amfortas; Falk Struckmann a powerful Klingsor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025

Was not his old hate a better defense than this agonized uncertainty?

From "Native Son" by Richard Wright

Among them are white male entitlement versus the crushing demands of Black exceptionalism; the complicated bond linking fathers to sons; and the agonizing bravery required of mothers raising boys the world is conditioned to ostracize.

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026

Collins stood outside for several agonizing minutes, hearing their muffled voices.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Inside, under flickering lights, a group of reluctant strangers is coaxed into acting out, in a converted gymnasium, a wild tale promising redemption from agonizing tragedy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

Earlier in the week, there was the agonizing sight of Jack Draper, the former Top-10 British wunderkind, tearing up mid-match as he continues to be hobbled by arm pain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Two bats required stitches on torn wings and, though they made a great effort to remain still while Solovet slid the needle in and out of their skin, the process was clearly agonizing for them.

From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins