Meaning
torment, agony
- torment, agony, heartache
- slaughter, carnage
- waste, ruin
In a sentence
Aspettarti per ore è stato uno strazio.
Waiting for you for hours was torture.
Perché fai questo strazio del tuo tempo?
Why do you waste your time like this?
Vedere soffrire quell'animale è stato un vero strazio.
Seeing that animal suffer was true agony.
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| strazio | masculine · singular |
| strazi | masculine · plural |
Usage notes
- Most common in singular: uno strazio. It often means intense emotional or physical suffering, stronger and more literary than dolore.
- In speech, che strazio! means 'what a pain/what torture,' often exaggerated for annoyance, not literal suffering.
- For a person causing suffering, use essere uno strazio or essere uno strazio da vedere/ascoltare; avoid direct calques from English.