throesthroes /θrəʊz $ θroʊz/ noun [plural] 
a country in the throes of a profound economic crisis → death throes
WORD ORIGINthroes
Origin:
Old English thrag ‘time’EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- His large manufacturing company was in the throes of hard times.
- She pitches her proposition in the throes of passionate lovemaking.
- The Jet Ranger arced upwards, a big prehistoric pterodactyl lurching blindly in its death throes.
- The other prime mover was that the slump is now in its dying throes.
- The rouble zone is in its death throes.
- Were we in the throes of a natural disaster?
Longman Language Activatorto suffer
to experience physical or emotional pain when something bad happens to you: · Children always suffer when their parents get divorced.· In all wars, it's innocent civilians who suffer most.· Anne still suffers a lot of pain in her leg.suffer from: · Two hundred million people worldwide suffer from parasitic diseases.
especially written to experience pain or have difficult or unpleasant experiences over a long period - use this especially about people who are brave and patient: · She has endured ten years of painful back operations.· They were lost in the mountains for ten days, enduring hunger, thirst, and intense cold.
to experience a lot of problems in your life over a long period of time: · Peter had lost his job, and the family was going through a very difficult time.· It's good to see Patrick looking so happy now, after all he's gone through in the last few years.
to experience a very difficult or unpleasant situation that you have no control over and cannot stop: · The hostages were eventually released after undergoing a terrifying ordeal.· He underwent major heart surgery last year.· At that time she was undergoing tremendous emotional problems following the breakup of her marriage.
to be forced to experience something very unpleasant, such as unfair or violent treatment, especially over a long time: · Black people in the area are claiming they have been subjected to repeated racial attacks from police officers.· The charity helps children who have been subjected to domestic violence and sexual abuse.
to be experiencing an extremely unpleasant or serious situation that you have no control over and cannot stop: · The Sudan was in the grip of its worst famine for 20 years.· Much of Europe was in the grip of postwar recession.
to be experiencing a difficult or unpleasant situation, especially one that continues a long time: · Kramer was in the throes of clinical depression and left the band for a while.· In the throes of the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt developed the economic plan called 'The New Deal'.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES The peace pact seems to be in its death throes.
The peace pact seems to be in its death throes.PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
in the throes of something formal in the middle of a very difficult situation: - At the time, Liberia was still in the throes of a civil war.
- Even in the throes of laughing at some remark passed by Grace Bird, Bunny watched Geoffrey.
- Her boys were always in the throes of what she euphemistically called summer colic.
- I have seen judges reeling in the throes of it.
- Ironically, those in the throes Of assimilating are likely to feel worse about them-selves than those on Union Street.
- Last, those who in the throes of passion drop your clothes, then, stop to hang their trousers up.
- She pitches her proposition in the throes of passionate lovemaking.
- The pin-headed young woman was being surprised by her husband in the throes of simulated adultery.
a country in the throes of a profound economic crisis → death throes