All 3 Uses of
ordeal
in
Killing Kennedy
- At this point in their ordeal, with the men's bodies racked by hunger and excruciating thirst, capture is becoming preferable to certain death.†
p. 29.3 *ordeal = very difficult or painful experience
- His ordeal with the Amagiri exacerbated his back problems, and he has even endured surgery—to no avail.†
p. 33.4
- Newman, who admits he doesn't cry easily, has himself been on the verge of tears during this heartbreaking ordeal.†
p. 196.9
Definitions:
-
(1)
(ordeal) a very difficult or painful experience
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely, ordeal can refer to a primitive method of determining a person's guilt or innocence by subjecting the accused person to dangerous or painful tests believed to be under divine control. Escape or survival was usually taken as a sign of innocence.