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:
Which is to say that “Ride Lonesome” can be heard as a highly enjoyable aesthetic experience rather than a raw expression of his torment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
As if Wendy’s hands, heart and day planner weren’t full enough, a panicky Jack determines to win her back, much to her torment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 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
And so I am forever starting over with the torment of loss combined with an itchy yearning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
It was an island now, not long to endure, amid the torment of Orodruin.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
So many torments get thrown at him he’s like a Job who needs a job.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025
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
But like many of those who saved lives that day, she still torments herself.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2025
Solange’s disgusting behavior as she torments her housemates is what the Eggers seem to be getting at.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2024
She knows as long as you’re in the asylum you’re safe from the world and its torments, there’s nothing you can do, you’re protected, and what’s the use of worrying.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
Omar Marmoush: Debutant was quickly parachuted into starting line-up, having tormented Newcastle so many times before with Manchester City.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
It’s been a bit of a bummer summer, especially on the men’s side, where injuries have tormented the field.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Noxious smoke and an influx of rats and flies attracted to rotting meat stored at the facility have tormented neighbors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
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
Every night, for years, she had tormented the sleepers of Weep.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Nothing that caused Brazil a scintilla of concern, but it was a breather, a break from the tormenting ways of Brazil's phenomenon on the left wing if nothing else.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
Fofana and Allan Saint-Maximin, on in place of Edouard and Said, continued the tormenting of PFC as they combined to add two goals in stoppage time.
From Barron's ● Feb. 14, 2026
A tormenting 16-3 defeat to the New England Patriots in the AFC wild-card round sent the Chargers’ season to an early finish Sunday for the second consecutive season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 12, 2026
They forced Snell to labor through 29 pitches, tormenting him with an array of foul balls and refusing to go down easily.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2025
I’m sitting on my horse blanket in the corner, brushing away the flies that have been tormenting me all morning, flitting from scab to scab.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
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.
