What does ordeal mean?
An ordeal is a severe, difficult, or painful experience that tests someone's endurance, resolve, or ability to cope. The word often suggests hardship that is prolonged or unusually demanding, such as a difficult recovery, a grueling period of waiting, or an exhausting personal crisis. Its modern use is primarily formal, although it is widely understood and can be appropriately vivid when describing genuine adversity. Historically, an ordeal referred to a judicial trial in which a person's guilt or innocence was assessed through their ability to endure danger, such as water or fire. The word therefore retains a strong sense of testing and surviving extreme difficulty, while modern usage has broadened to cover personal suffering and formidable experiences more generally.
A severe, difficult, or painful experience that tests a person's endurance or character.
"The family faced an ordeal when the factory where they worked closed."
The modern sense is formal and often implies prolonged hardship, severe difficulty, or a test of resolve.
A historical trial in which a person's guilt or innocence was judged by their ability to endure a specified danger or ordeal.
"The accused was subjected to an ordeal by water in accordance with medieval law."
This is chiefly a historical or literary sense.
The standard plural is "ordeals."
"The survivors spoke of the ordeals they had endured during the journey."
From a medieval trial by fire to a modern personal crisis, an ordeal has always been something that tests what a person can endure.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does ordeal come from?
The word comes through Middle English from Anglo-French, where it was associated with a formal judgment or trial. Its ultimate source is Latin, in a term connected with judging, order, and decision. The modern form developed during the period when medieval judicial ordeals were practiced, before the sense broadened to mean any severe test or painful experience.
Related word forms
How ordeal is actually used
Generally formal. In modern usage it describes an experience that is exceptionally difficult or demanding, often involving suffering, endurance, or prolonged stress. The historical sense is mainly encountered in historical or literary contexts.