torment
to afflict with great bodily or mental suffering; pain: to be tormented with violent headaches.
to worry or annoy excessively: to torment one with questions.
to throw into commotion; stir up; disturb.
a state of great bodily or mental suffering; agony; misery.
something that causes great bodily or mental pain or suffering.
a source of much trouble, worry, or annoyance.
an instrument of torture, as the rack or the thumbscrew.
the infliction of torture by means of such an instrument or the torture so inflicted.
Origin of torment
1synonym study For torment
Other words for torment
Opposites for torment
Other words from torment
- tor·ment·ed·ly, adverb
- tor·ment·ing·ly, adverb
- tor·ment·ing·ness, noun
- un·tor·ment·ed, adjective
- un·tor·ment·ing, adjective
- un·tor·ment·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use torment in a sentence
He was crying as he told me about the torment in his mind, the nightmares he had at 7 or 8 years old.
I called to her, but she slipped away with a tormenting smile at my helpless hands, and I followed her with some impatience.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show | Robert W. Chambers | February 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBanville may tarnish his hero a bit, particularly by tormenting him with alcohol.
The coach of the William McKinley High School Cheerios is a ruthless bully, tormenting both students and teachers alike.
These icons haunted my fitful rest, tantalizing and tormenting as I waited in vain for the Sirenes.
The Extinction Parade: An Original Zombie Story by Max Brooks | Max Brooks | January 14, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
I am a dawn riser, more prone to tormenting the early shift with headline changes than the late-nighters.
Charles Duran, who was out of his element when he was not in mischief, seemed to take delight in tormenting these little children.
Charles Duran | The Author of The WaldosI will not have you hunting and tormenting those kangaroo rats to-day.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend | Charles ReadeThis restless and tormenting passion for gold punishes them for aiming at other advantages by love than love itself.
The love letters of Abelard and Heloise | Peter AbelardBut wishing to break the tormenting chain of ideas, the doctor went out into the kitchen.
More Tales by Polish Authors | VariousSome of the supers jabbed me pretty hard, among them Babe Durgon, who delighted in tormenting me.
The Iron Puddler | James J. Davis
British Dictionary definitions for torment
to afflict with great pain, suffering, or anguish; torture
to tease or pester in an annoying way: stop tormenting the dog
physical or mental pain
a source of pain, worry, annoyance, etc
archaic an instrument of torture
archaic the infliction of torture
Origin of torment
1Derived forms of torment
- tormented, adjective
- tormentedly, adverb
- tormenting, adjective, noun
- tormentingly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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