ordeal

Everyday

1. A very hard, painful or frightening experience that goes on for some time. tree →
2. (history) In the Middle Ages, a cruel test, such as holding hot iron, used to "decide" if someone was guilty. tree →
3. A religious test, such as walking through fire, believed to cleanse a person of sin. tree →

In the lessons

In stories and news an ordeal tells the reader that a character went through something terrible and survived: being lost, trapped, ill or kidnapped. People say "after their ordeal" or "a terrible ordeal". In history lessons "trial by ordeal" was an old, unfair way of judging people. In everyday talk it can be used jokily for something boring or annoying: "The car journey was an ordeal."

Examples

• The climbers were safe after a long ordeal on the mountain. tree →
• Being stuck in the lift for two hours was a real ordeal. tree →
• She told reporters about her ordeal at sea. tree →
• Trial by ordeal was used in medieval England. tree →
• The dentist visit was not the ordeal I expected. tree →
• After the ordeal, the lost hikers were given hot soup. tree →
• During this festival it was customary for shepherds to ignite a mass of straw, through which they rushed with their flocks, believing that this ordeal would purify them from sin. tree →

Note

Countable: an ordeal (use "an" — it begins with a vowel sound). Pronounced or-DEEL. Stronger than "difficulty" or "problem": an ordeal is long and upsetting.