ordeal
A very bad and difficult experience that usually lasts for some time and causes stress, fear, or pain.
A very unpleasant, difficult, or painful experience, especially one that continues for a long time and is emotionally or physically stressful.
An old way of testing if someone was guilty, where the person had to do something dangerous or painful, and people believed God would show the truth by what happened.
In historical or religious contexts, a method of judging a person’s guilt or innocence by making them undergo a dangerous or painful test, with the outcome believed to show divine judgment.
- Base: ordeal
- Plural: ordeals
go through an ordeal
1experience a very hard situation
To have a very bad and difficult experience that causes a lot of stress or pain.
- She went through an ordeal after the accident, with weeks in the hospital and months of rehab.
- The whole community went through an ordeal during the long power outage in winter.
put someone through an ordeal
1make someone suffer a hard experience
To make someone have a very bad and difficult experience.
- The long court case put the family through an ordeal they never expected.
- I’m sorry we put you through such an ordeal with all these last‑minute changes.
recover from the ordeal
1get better after a hard experience
To slowly feel normal or well again after a very bad and difficult experience.
- It took her months to recover from the ordeal of surgery and chemotherapy.
- The hikers were still recovering from the ordeal of being lost in the mountains for three days.
the ordeal of [doing something]
1very hard process of doing something
A very difficult, stressful, or painful process of doing something, often because it takes a lot of time or energy.
- I dread the ordeal of moving house every few years.
- They described the ordeal of filling out all the visa forms and waiting for months.
trial by ordeal
1historical legal test using an ordeal
An old way of judging if someone was guilty, where the person had to do something very dangerous or painful, and people believed the result showed God’s judgment.
- The documentary explains how trial by ordeal was used in medieval Europe.
- In some legends, heroes prove their honesty through a trial by ordeal ordered by the king.