throe

(noun, verb)

noun

1. severe spasm of pain

- the throes of dying

- the throes of childbirth

Definition categories: state, agony, excruciation, suffering

2. hard or painful trouble or struggle

- a country in the throes of economic collapse

Definition categories: state, distress

verb

1. (transitive) To put in agony.

2. (intransitive) To struggle in extreme pain; to be in agony; to agonize.