ordeal
noun/ɔːˈdiːl/, /ˈɔːdiːl/
/ɔːrˈdiːl/
[usually singular]- a difficult or unpleasant experience
- They had survived a terrifying ordeal.
- The interview was less of an ordeal than she'd expected.
- The hostages spoke openly about the terrible ordeal they had been through.
- ordeal of (doing) something They are to be spared the ordeal of giving evidence in court.
Extra Examples- She was subjected to a terrible six-day ordeal.
- She's extremely distressed by the whole ordeal.
- Starting at a new school can be quite an ordeal for a young child.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- long
- entire
- whole
- …
- endure
- face
- go through
- …
- ordeal of
- an ordeal at the hands of somebody
Word OriginOld English ordāl, ordēl, of Germanic origin; related to German urteilen ‘give judgement’, from a base meaning ‘share out’. The word is not found in Middle English (except once in Chaucer's Troilus); modern use of the current sense began in the mid 17th cent.
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