What does ordeal mean?
Word: Ordeal
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Ordeal means a very difficult, painful or frightening experience, often one that goes on for some time.
Synonyms: trial, nightmare
How do you spell ordeal?
Syllables: or - deal
Tricky part: The long ee sound after the d is spelt ea, not ee or ie. Ordeel and ordiel are the usual slips.
Watch out for: ordeel, ordiel
Memory tip: A cup of tea helps after a long ordeal: the ee sound in both words is spelt ea.
Ordeal in a sentence
Example 1: The ten-hour bus ride on the mountain road turned into a real ordeal.
Example 2: After the ordeal of the flood, the villagers began rebuilding their homes.
Example 3: Waiting outside the principal's office felt like an ordeal to Kabir.
Fun Fact
Ordeal goes back to Old English ordal, which meant a judgement. Over the centuries its meaning widened to any hard test that a person has to get through.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the misspelt word/s in the given sentence:
Climbing the last steep strech of the trek in heavy rain was an ordeal, but the view from the top was worthwile.
a) strech and worthwile
b) only worthwile
c) ordeal and strech
d) only heavy
Show answer
a) strech and worthwile. Stretch has a t before the ch, and worthwhile has an h after the second w; ordeal is spelt correctly.
Spellacadabra
Choose the misspelt word:
a) carnival
b) ordeall
c) pedestal
d) recall
Show answer
b) ordeall. Ordeall doubles the final l by mistake; recall really has ll, and pedestal and carnival end in a single l.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with the word closest in meaning:
1. ordeal 2. triumph 3. dispute a. victory b. hardship c. quarrel
a) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
b) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
c) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
d) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
Show answer
b) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c. Hardship and ordeal both describe a tough time, victory and triumph mean winning, and quarrel and dispute mean an argument.
Word Champ
Read the three statements. Which of them are true?
1. An ordeal is something most people look forward to. 2. An orchard is a piece of land where fruit trees are grown. 3. An ornament is a tool for digging soil.
a) only 1 and 2 are true
b) only 2 is true
c) all three are true
d) only 2 and 3 are true
Show answer
b) only 2 is true. Nobody looks forward to an ordeal, and an ornament is a decoration, such as a glass ball on a tree, not a digging tool.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Most people would call ___ an ordeal.
a) a week with a bad toothache
b) reading a comic on a holiday
c) getting a prize at school
d) eating an ice cream in the park
Show answer
a) a week with a bad toothache
2. After an ordeal, a person is most likely to feel ___.
a) jealous
b) cheerful
c) amused
d) exhausted
Show answer
d) exhausted
