torture

American  

[tawr-cher] / ˈtɔr tʃər /

noun

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

2. a method of inflicting such pain.

3. Often tortures. the pain or suffering caused or undergone.

4. extreme anguish of body or mind; agony.

5. a cause of severe pain or anguish.

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verb (used with object)

tortured, torturing

1. to subject to torture.

2. to afflict with severe pain of body or mind.

   My back is torturing me.

3. to force or extort by torture.

   We'll torture the truth from his lips!

4. to twist, force, or bring into some unnatural position or form.

   trees tortured by storms.

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

torture British  

/ ˈtɔːtʃə /

verb

1. to cause extreme physical pain to, esp in order to extract information, break resistance, etc

   to torture prisoners

2. to give mental anguish to

3. to twist into a grotesque form

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noun

1. physical or mental anguish

2. the practice of torturing a person

3. a cause of mental agony or worry

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

Related Words

See torment.

Other Word Forms

• overtorture verb (used with object)
• pretorture noun
• self-torture noun
• self-tortured adjective
• self-torturing adjective
• torturable adjective
• tortured adjective
• torturedly adverb
• torturer noun
• torturesome adjective
• torturing adjective
• torturingly adverb
• torturously adverb
• untortured adjective

Etymology

Origin of torture

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

Explanation

To torture is to torment or purposefully put someone through intense pain or agony. The word torture comes from the word for "harm." It can refer to the deliberate infliction of physical or mental suffering in order to punish or obtain information; the act of distorting something, so it means something it wasn't intended to mean; or extreme mental distress or unbearable physical pain not necessarily inflicted by another.

Example Sentences

After the crackdown in January, Sheikhi fled to the autonomous Kurdistan region in Iraq, fearing arrest and torture back home, where the moustached, bespectacled man had been no stranger to anti-government protests.

From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026

I’m hearing what feels like your peak frustration with the “John Yoo special”: As long as it’s not organ failure, it’s not torture.

From Slate • Feb. 3, 2026

And they’ve done it by unearthing another MVP-caliber quarterback in Drake Maye, who has the potential to torture yet another generation of Jets teams.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026

She urged the UK and other governments that "share responsibility for his ongoing torture and unlawful detention" to ensure his release.

From BBC • Jan. 11, 2026

Bending over the whole time would have been torture.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Related Words

• abuse
• annoy
• beat
• disturb
• injure
• maim
• mistreat
• mutilate
• oppress
• persecute
• torment
• wound