lāˈäkəˌwän noun
( -s )
Usage: often capitalized
Etymology: after Laocoon, ancient Greek priest of Apollo (from Greek Laokoōn ) who is portrayed in a 1st century B.C. sculpture in a heroic struggle against two giant serpents
: one that struggles heroically with crushing or baffling difficulties
a man engaged in a Laocoon struggle with his imagination — Robert Lynd
gives the impression of being … forced into laocoon attitudes — Graham Greene