torture

[tawr-cher]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR torture ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty.

a method of inflicting such pain.

Often tortures. the pain or suffering caused or undergone.

extreme anguish of body or mind; agony.

a cause of severe pain or anguish.

verb (used with object), tor·tured, tor·tur·ing.

to subject to torture.

to afflict with severe pain of body or mind: My back is torturing me.

to force or extort by torture: We'll torture the truth from his lips!

to twist, force, or bring into some unnatural position or form: trees tortured by storms.

to distort or pervert (language, meaning, etc.).

Origin of torture

First recorded in 1530–40, torture is from the Late Latin word tortūra a twisting, torment, torture. See tort, -ure

Related formstor·tur·a·ble, adjectivetor·tured·ly, adverbtor·tur·er, nountor·ture·some, adjectivetor·tur·ing·ly, adverbo·ver·tor·ture, verb (used with object), o·ver·tor·tured, o·ver·tor·tur·ing.pre·tor·ture, noun, verb (used with object), pre·tor·tured, pre·tor·tur·ing.self-tor·ture, nounself-tor·tured, adjectiveself-tor·tur·ing, adjectiveun·tor·tured, adjective

Synonyms for torture

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR torture ON THESAURUS.COM

6. See torment.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for torture

persecution, suffering, torment, misery, annoy, disturb, injure, beat, wound, abuse, persecute, mistreat, maim, mutilate, oppress, laceration, distress, martyrdom, agony, dolor

Examples from the Web for torture

Contemporary Examples of torture

Torture, the UVa rape, police violence—we hunger for the facts, and then twist them.
On Torture, Chuck Johnson & Sondheim
James Poulos
December 13, 2014
He also wrote, “Torture is not a thing that we can tolerate.”
The Luxury Homes That Torture and Your Tax Dollars Built
Michael Daly
December 12, 2014
White House Must Decide Who Will Be Named in the CIA ‘Torture Report’
The Best of the Beast, Aug 9-10
August 9, 2014
Torture continues apace, as Amnesty International has documented, and few are held accountable.
One Year Later, Libya’s Long Road Continues
Jamie Dettmer
October 22, 2012
“Torture in police detention [has] increased dramatically with the uprising,” she says.
Assad’s House of Torture
Anna Therese Day
October 14, 2012

Historical Examples of torture

Torture comes, in the minds of many of us, to be not only His main function but His only function.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
Torture underwent a special development in the Euphrates valley.
Folkways
William Graham Sumner
It was a grim business that waited him in the Torture Lodge.
IT and Other Stories
Gouverneur Morris
Torture and mutilation, metaphorically speaking, are possible to him.
The Daughters of Danaus
Mona Caird
Torture had been threatened, the fire had been threatened; what was left?
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
Mark Twain

British Dictionary definitions for torture

torture

verb (tr)

to cause extreme physical pain to, esp in order to extract information, break resistance, etcto torture prisoners

to give mental anguish to

to twist into a grotesque form

noun

physical or mental anguish

the practice of torturing a person

a cause of mental agony or worry

Derived Formstortured, adjectivetorturedly, adverbtorturer, nountorturesome or torturous, adjectivetorturing, adjectivetorturingly, adverbtorturously, adverb

Word Origin for torture

C16: from Late Latin tortūra a twisting, from torquēre to twist

usage

The adjective torturous is sometimes confused with tortuous. One speaks of a torturous experience, i.e. one that involves pain or suffering, but of a tortuous road, i.e. one that winds or twists

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

Word Origin and History for torture

early 15c., "contortion, twisting, distortion," from Old French torture "infliction of great pain, great pain, agony," and directly from Late Latin torture "a twisting, writhing, torture, torment," from stem of Latin torquere "to twist, turn, wind, wring, distort" (see thwart).

1580s, from torture (n.). Related: Tortured; torturing.