The word excruciating means causing severe and intense pain or suffering. It can also refer to something that is extremely difficult, agonizing, or unbearable. The term comes from the Latin word “cruciare,” which means to torture, and it was used in medieval times to describe the most gruesome forms of execution – such as being nailed to a cross or tied to a stake and burned alive. Today, excruciating is often used figuratively to describe emotional pain or distress, rather than physical suffering.