What is the meaning of ordeal?

noun

  • A severe or trying experience.
  • 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.
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
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APAWordNet. (2010). ordeal. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/ordeal/definitions/1193795
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "ordeal" http://smartdefine.org/ordeal/definitions/1193795 (accessed September 22, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, ordeal, Smart Define, viewed 22 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/ordeal/definitions/1193795>.
MLAWordNet. "ordeal" 23 October 2010. Web. 22 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/ordeal/definitions/1193795>
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