torment

[ verb tawr-ment, tawr-ment; noun tawr-ment ]

See synonyms for: torment tormented tormenting on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

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.

noun

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

First recorded in 1250–1300; (noun) Middle English, from Old French, from Latin tormentum “rope, catapult, torture,” from unattested torkw-ment- (see torque, -ment); (verb) Middle English tormenten, from Old French tormenter, derivative of torment (compare Late Latin tormentāre)

synonym study For torment

1. 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 words for torment

1	harry, hector, vex, distress, agonize
2	plague, pester, tease, provoke, needle, trouble, fret
4	torture, distress, anguish

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Opposites for torment

please

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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.
He Ain’t Heavy. He’s a Child Molester. | Eugene Robinson | October 20, 2020 | Ozy
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 BEAST
Banville may tarnish his hero a bit, particularly by tormenting him with alcohol.
Can Pulp Win the Booker? | Allen Barra | September 7, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
The coach of the William McKinley High School Cheerios is a ruthless bully, tormenting both students and teachers alike.
TV’s Best and Worst Teachers | Jaimie Etkin | September 4, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
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.
The Daily Beast Turns 2! | Tina Brown | October 5, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
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 Waldos
I will not have you hunting and tormenting those kangaroo rats to-day.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend | Charles Reade
This 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 Abelard
But wishing to break the tormenting chain of ideas, the doctor went out into the kitchen.
More Tales by Polish Authors | Various
Some 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

torment

verb(tɔːˈmɛnt) (tr)

to afflict with great pain, suffering, or anguish; torture
to tease or pester in an annoying way: stop tormenting the dog

noun(ˈtɔːmɛnt)

physical or mental pain
a source of pain, worry, annoyance, etc

archaic an instrument of torture
archaic the infliction of torture

Origin of torment

C13: from Old French, from Latin tormentum, from torquēre

Derived 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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