ordealnoun [ C ]
uk/ɔːˈdɪəl/us/ɔːrˈdɪəl/C2 a very unpleasant and painful or difficult experience:
The hostages' ordeal came to an end when soldiers stormed the building.
More examples
- She looked pale and drawn after her ordeal.
- He made little of his ordeal.
- I'm sorry to put you through this ordeal.
- The love of my family and friends sustained me through my ordeal.
- Throughout the ordeal of her husband's funeral, Mrs Holmes was a model of deportment .
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Difficult situations and unpleasant experiences
- a (heavy) cross to bear idiom
- a cloud on the horizon idiom
- a fate worse than death idiom
- a hard/tough row to hoe idiom
- a narrow squeak idiom
- barrel
- bind
- crunch
- curse
- eventuality
- fate
- feeding frenzy
- going
- have a bumpy ride idiom
- schtuck
- shtook
- stalemate
- standoff
- sticky wicket
- vortex
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