agonizing

Compared meaning: causing pain or suffering (adjective).

比较义项：引起疼痛或痛苦的（形容词）。

• painful

  General word for anything causing physical pain or emotional distress; moderate in strength and used for injuries, procedures, memories or situations, unlike sore (only body parts) or agonizing (extreme suffering).

  泛指引起身体疼痛或情感痛苦的词，程度适中，可用于伤病、经历、回忆等场合；不像sore只能指身体部位酸痛，也不像agonizing那样表示极端的痛苦。

  The injection was a bit painful but over within seconds.

  打针有点疼，但几秒钟就结束了。

• sore

  Describes a body part that aches or is tender, usually from overuse, strain or injury; milder and more physical than agonizing, and narrower than painful, which is not limited to body parts.

  指身体某个部位因劳累、拉伤或受伤而感到酸痛，程度比agonizing轻，且比painful更局限——只能用来形容身体部位，而不能用于情感或整体经历。

  After the long hike, my feet were so sore I could barely walk.

  长途徒步之后，我的脚酸痛得几乎走不了路。

• agonizing 本词

  Means extremely painful or distressing, far stronger than painful or sore; often used for intense physical pain or prolonged mental suffering, such as waiting, decisions or loss, in a more dramatic register.

  表示极其痛苦或令人难以忍受，程度远强于painful或sore，常用于剧烈的身体疼痛或漫长的精神折磨，例如等待、抉择或失去，语气更为强烈、戏剧化。

  Watching her suffer in silence was agonizing for the whole family.

  看着她默默忍受痛苦，这让全家人都感到痛苦难忍。

Painful, sore, and agonizing all describe causing pain, but differ in strength. Painful is the general word for physical pain or emotional distress. Sore describes an aching body part, usually from overuse, milder and casual. Agonizing means very painful, for intense pain or suffering.

这三个词在表示“引起疼痛或痛苦”这一意义上很接近，但程度和用法不同：painful泛指身体或情感上的疼痛，程度适中；sore专指身体部位因劳累或摩擦而产生的酸痛，程度较轻，语气随意；agonizing表示极其剧烈、令人难以忍受的痛苦，程度最强，语气也更为强烈。