excruciatingly

Everyday

1. Extremely painfully. tree →
2. (informal) Extremely, in a way that is hard to bear, as in «excruciatingly slow» or «excruciatingly embarrassing». tree →

In the lessons

Usually it strengthens another adjective: «excruciatingly painful», «excruciatingly boring», «excruciatingly funny» (so funny it hurts). In stories it tells the reader that something was almost unbearable.

Examples

• The cut was excruciatingly painful. tree →
• The queue moved excruciatingly slowly. tree →
• The film was excruciatingly boring. tree →
• It was excruciatingly embarrassing when my phone rang in assembly. tree →
• The comedian was excruciatingly funny. tree →
• The last minutes before the bell went excruciatingly slowly. tree →

Note

Adverb from «excruciating». It almost always comes before another adjective or adverb as a strong intensifier. Pronounced ex-KROO-shee-ay-ting-lee.