Definitions for ordeal
ɔrˈdil, -ˈdi əl, ˈɔr dilor·deal

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.0 / 2 votes

1. ordealnoun

   a severe or trying experience

2. ordeal, trial by ordealnoun

   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 was usually taken as a sign of innocence

WiktionaryRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. ordealnoun

   a painful or trying experience

2. ordealnoun

   a trial in which the accused was subjected to a dangerous test (such as ducking in water), divine authority deciding the guilt of the accused

3. Etymology: From *, ordal, from ordel, ordal, from uzdailaz, equivalent to. Cognate with oardiel, oordeel, Urteil.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ORDEALnoun

   A trial by fire or water, by which the person accused appealed to heaven, by walking blindfold over hot bars of iron; or being thrown, I suppose, into the water; whence the vulgar trial of witches.

   Etymology: ordal , Sax. ordalium, low Lat. ordalie, Fr.

   Their ordeal laws they used in doubtful cases, when clear proofs wanted. George Hakewill, on Providence.

   In the time of king John, the purgation per ignem et aquam, or the trial by ordeal continued; but it ended with this king. Matthew Hale.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ordeal

   An ordeal is a difficult or painful experience, especially one that severely tests a person's character, endurance, or resolution. It can also refer to an ancient method of judgment, where the accused was subjected to some dangerous or painful tests believed to be under divine control.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Ordeal

   or′de-al, n. a dealing out or giving of just judgment: an ancient form of referring a disputed question to the judgment of God, by lot, fire, water, &c.: any severe trial or examination. [A.S. or-dél, or-dál; cf. Dut. oor-deel, Ger. ur-theil.]

The Nuttall EncyclopediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Ordeal

   a test by fire, water, poison, wager of battle, or the like, of the innocence or guilt of persons in appeal thereby to the judgment of God in default of other evidence, on the superstitious belief that by means of it God would interfere to acquit the innocent and condemn the guilty, a test very often had recourse to among savage or half-civilised nations.

Matched Categories

1. • Experience
   • Trial

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Anagrams for ordeal »

1. reload

2. Laredo

3. loader

How to pronounce ordeal?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say ordeal in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of ordeal in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of ordeal in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of ordeal in a Sentence

1. Barry Berke:

   David and his family have never wavered in their belief in his innocence, and he had the courage to persevere through this long and unfortunate ordeal.

2. Garrett Gallindo:

   I'm glad to have seen some portion of [ my grandmother's livestreamed funeral ], but otherwise, I'm upset about the whole ordeal, it's hard to feel a part of anything when you're sitting at home.

3. State Department spokeswomanMorgan Ortagus:

   We strongly urge Austins captors to release him and to end this painful ordeal, we call on anyone who may have information about Austins whereabouts - governments and individuals -- to work cooperatively with us to secure his safe release and to bring him home.

4. Moon Jae-in:

   One rule I always follow, never predict what happens in South Korean politics. PRISONER OF NORTH KOREA: AN AMERICAN SAFE AT HOME SHARES HIS ORDEAL The polls have been volatile during the 30 days of the election campaign process, but Moon has held a steady lead throughout, said Scott Snyder, a senior fellow for Korea studies and director of the program on U.S.-Korea policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. There will be new tensions in the U.S.- ROK alliance relationship that have not been there under conservative governments over the course of the past 8 or 9 years.

5. Kevin Steele:

   I want to commend Cosby's victim Andrea Constand for her bravery in coming forward and remaining steadfast throughout this long ordeal, as well as all of the other women who have shared similar experiences.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=ordeal
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Ordeal
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=ordeal
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=ordeal
6. ^ The Nuttall Encyclopedia
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/12342/pg12342-images.html#Ordeal
7. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=ordeal