torment
Americanverb (used with object)
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torments,
present (3rd person singular)
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tormented,
past participle, past
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tormenting
present participle
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to afflict with great bodily or mental suffering; pain.
to be tormented with violent headaches.
- Antonyms:
- please
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to worry or annoy excessively.
to torment one with questions.
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to throw into commotion; stir up; disturb.
noun
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torments
plural
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a state of great bodily or mental suffering; agony; misery.
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something that causes great bodily or mental pain or suffering.
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a source of much trouble, worry, or annoyance.
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an instrument of torture, as the rack or the thumbscrew.
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the infliction of torture by means of such an instrument or the torture so inflicted.
verb
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to afflict with great pain, suffering, or anguish; torture
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to tease or pester in an annoying way
stop tormenting the dog
noun
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physical or mental pain
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a source of pain, worry, annoyance, etc
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archaic an instrument of torture
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archaic the infliction of torture
Synonym Usage
Torment , rack , torture suggest causing great physical or mental pain, suffering, or harassment. To torment is to afflict or harass as by incessant repetition of vexations or annoyances: to be tormented by doubts. To rack is to affect with such pain as that suffered by one stretched on a rack; to concentrate with painful effort: to rack one's brains. To torture is to afflict with acute and more or less protracted suffering: to torture one by keeping one in suspense.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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tormentingnessnoun
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tormentedadjective
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tormentingadjective
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untormentedadjective
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untormentingadjective
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tormentedlyadverb
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tormentinglyadverb
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untormentinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tormentsimple
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tormentssimple
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have tormentedperfect
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has tormentedperfect
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am tormentingprogressive
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are tormentingprogressive
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is tormentingprogressive
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have been tormentingperfect progressive
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has been tormentingperfect progressive
Past
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tormentedsimple
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had tormentedperfect
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was tormentingprogressive
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were tormentingprogressive
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had been tormentingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of torment
First recorded in 1250–1300; (noun) Middle English, from Old French, from Latin tormentum “rope, catapult, torture,” from unattested tork w -ment- ( see torque, -ment); (verb) Middle English tormenten, from Old French tormenter, derivative of torment (compare Late Latin tormentāre )
Explanation
By repeatedly trying to make someone miserable you torment them. The noun torment is the result of the verb torment. After stealing the old lady's purse, you might expect to be tormented by many sleepless nights. Those nights without sleep will torment (tor-MENT) you. They are your torment (TOR-ment). Perhaps you shouldn't have done that. You'll doubtless notice the relationship between torture and torment. But the subtle difference between them is that to torment someone is to torture them repeatedly. Often this is used metaphorically. For example, calling someone over and over to demand payment isn't actually torture, but it's certainly a way to torment them.
Vocabulary lists containing torment
Number the Stars
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Achievement First 5th Grade IA 1 Words
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That Hurts! Synonyms for "Pain"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Still, Messinger, 85 years old, described the same torment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
He is accompanied on his reluctant journey to the finish line with a group of characters who by turns torment and placate him.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
They added that since the fatal crash, they "have lived every day since then in torment — without peace, without answers, and without accountability".
From BBC ● May 1, 2026
Racked with torment over her proximity to evil, Hilda makes a desperate confession to a Catholic priest, who happens to be a New Englander.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
Millions of people around the world had fallen in love with this musical, but I squirmed in my seat, trying to rise above the inexplicable torment I felt every time the melody repeated.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
The weight of the $80 monthly loan payments—which cover only interest—and the threat of her parents losing their land, torments Samrith Sarav.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Even at a distance - about a quarter of a mile away - the acrid smell torments my nostrils.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
After spending time in the divine abyss, we’re back in reality, ripped from the stratosphere and placed into one of life’s most mundane torments: the hygienist’s chair.
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2025
Backstory: The bitter rivalry between screen legends Bette Davis and Joan Crawford helped propel this film about an aging onetime child star who torments her sister, a paraplegic former actor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2025
It brings on the flood of images that torments me, awake or asleep.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
From Boyle Heights to Monterey Park, residents said they were overwhelmed by the smoke from the week-long fire, and then tormented by the horrible stench from decaying meat and seafood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The rearrangement allowed Shankly to recall Toshack, who had been left out of the initial match, and he and Keegan tormented the Germans in a 3-0 victory, Liverpool subsequently winning 3-2 on aggregate.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Jefferson could also be tormented by love, when it was shattered by loss.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
And the officials who tormented Landor, he concluded, did not provide that consent, so the lawsuit has to fail.
From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2026
All day long he had been tormented by his mistake.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
The pressure creeps up gradually, almost imperceptible day to day, tormenting inhabitants with uncertainty as they watch their city close down around them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Owner Tara Zaman said they targeted the shop several times, "taking things" and "taunting" and "tormenting" her staff.
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
Who could’ve guessed that a spin on “A Christmas Carol” that follows a woman with a bad haircut tormenting her neighbors might not be the most amiable take on this heartwarming story?
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025
"It is very tormenting as I have to look at... things I do not want to see," Fung told AFP.
From Barron's ● Nov. 28, 2025
He did not interrupt her until late in the afternoon, when he could no longer bear the echo of the bass drum that was tormenting his head.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
