| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | torture; strain |
| Synonyms: | afflict, agonize, crucify, distress, excruciate, force, harass, harrow, martyr, oppress, pain, persecute, pull, shake, stress, stretch, tear, torment, try, wrench, wring |
| Notes: | rack is the linear gear and pinion is the circular gear in a mechanism rack is destruction and ruin is destitution; in rack and ruin, rack is a variation of wrack and wreck |
| Antonyms: | please, pleasure, soothe |
| Main Entry: | afflict |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | cause or become hurt |
| Synonyms: | agonize, annoy, beset, bother, burden, crucify, distress, grieve, harass, harrow, harry, irk, lacerate, martyr, oppress, pain, pester, plague, press, rack, smite, strike, torment, torture, trouble, try, vex, worry, wound |
| Antonyms: | aid, comfort, help, solace, stay away from, take care of |
| Main Entry: | agonize |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | suffer or cause another to suffer |
| Synonyms: | afflict, bleed, carry on, crucify, distress, disturb, eat heart out, excruciate, harrow, hurt, labor, lament, martyr, pain, rack, sing the blues, squirm, stew over, strain, strive, struggle, take it badly, torment, torture, try, wince, worry, writhe |
| Antonyms: | not worry |
| Main Entry: | agonizing |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | difficult and painful, suffering |
| Synonyms: | disturbing, excruciating, extreme, fierce, harrowing, intense, racking, struggling, tearing, tormenting, tortuous, torturing, vehement, violent |
| Main Entry: | crucify |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | execute; torture near to death |
| Synonyms: | excruciate, hang, harrow, kill, martyr, martyrize, nail to cross, persecute, rack, torment, torture |
| Antonyms: | exalt |
| Main Entry: | distress |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | worry, upset |
| Synonyms: | afflict, aggrieve, agonize, ail, be on one's case, bother, break, bug, burn up, depress, desolate, discombobulate, disquiet, disturb, do a number on, dog*, eat*, get to, get*, give a hard time, grieve, harass, harry, hound, hurt, injure, irk, irritate, make it tough for, miff, nag, needle, nit-pick, oppress, pain, peeve, perplex, pester, pick on, plague, push, push buttons, rack, sadden, strain, strap, stress, tick off, torment, torture, trouble, try, vex, weigh, wound |
| Antonyms: | assist, calm, comfort, help, soothe |
| Main Entry: | excruciating |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | torturous, painful |
| Synonyms: | acute, agonizing, burning, chastening, consuming, exquisite, extreme, grueling, harrowing, insufferable, intense, piercing, punishing, racking, rending, searing, severe, sharp, shooting, stabbing, tearing, tormenting, torturesome, torturing, unbearable, unendurable, violent |
| Antonyms: | bearable, endurable, helpful, pleasant, pleasing, soothing |
| Main Entry: | gallop |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | bolt, race with slight jumping motion |
| Synonyms: | amble, canter, career, course, dart, dash, fly, hasten, hurdle, hurry, jump, leap, lope, pace, rack, run, rush, shoot, speed, spring, sprint, stride, tear along, trot, zoom |
| Main Entry: | grueling |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | difficult, taxing |
| Synonyms: | arduous, backbreaking, brutal, chastening, crushing, demanding, excruciating, exhausting, fatiguing, fierce, grinding, hairy*, hard, harsh, heavy*, laborious, punishing, racking, severe, stiff, strenuous, tiring, torturous, trying |
| Antonyms: | easy, facile |