Anguished describes the feeling of deep mental or emotional pain, or the way someone looks or sounds when experiencing that pain. When someone is anguished, they're suffering from intense worry, grief, or distress that feels almost physical.

You might see an anguished expression on a parent's face when their child is seriously hurt or missing. A character in a novel might let out an anguished cry when they discover terrible news. The word captures that moment when emotional pain becomes so strong it shows clearly in someone's voice, face, or body language.

Anguish (the noun form) describes the crushing feeling someone experiences during a real crisis or loss, like when a family loses their home in a fire or when someone faces an impossible choice between two terrible options. It's extreme emotional suffering that overwhelms ordinary sadness or worry. When you read that someone made an anguished decision, you know they struggled deeply to make it.