torture
noun
the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty.
tortured
-
past participleof torture.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
-
past tense formof torture.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
torturenounthe act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty. -
a word derived from
torture.
torturenounthe act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty.
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.
“Underneath an artist’s preoccupations with sex, society, religion, etc.,” the narrator insists, “there is a soul tortured beyond endurance by the lack of tenderness in the world.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
But will she choose Mr. Ryder, the libertine with a hangup about marriage, or Mr. Hayward, the tortured empath who recites poetry to her in a hidden garden?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Decades of tortured relations between Iran, its Middle Eastern neighbours and the US have left behind a toxic legacy, characterised by deep suspicion and an almost total lack of trust.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
“We would get together and have these very long conversations,” says director Rebecca Miller, who interviewed American cinema’s great poet of tortured masculinity over five years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
His run was slow and tortured, the duffel bag too heavy for him.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
