torture

[tawr-cher]

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.

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

/ 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

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of torture¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of torture¹

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

Synonym Study

See torment.

Example Sentences

Ideas about another acclaimed “tortured artist” were enlarged by “Van Gogh: The Roulin Family Portraits” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

While a paper’s methodology could be more or less rigorous, and data could be tortured into fitting preconceived conclusions, the falsification of an entire study was extraordinary.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

After surviving World War II, Zawacka was imprisoned and tortured by the Communists in the 1950s, but she lived to see a free Poland.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The second-wicket pair were tortured by England's hostility, taking blows, playing and missing.

Read more on BBC

Guo, who served as mayor of a town north of Manila, was found guilty of running a Chinese-operated online gambling centre where hundreds of people were forced to run scams or risk torture.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

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