torture
Americannoun
-
tortures
plural
-
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)
-
tortures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
tortured,
past participle, past
-
torturing
present participle
-
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.).
verb
-
to cause extreme physical pain to, esp in order to extract information, break resistance, etc
to 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
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
Synonym Usage
See torment.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
pretorturenoun
-
self-torturenoun
-
torturernoun
-
overtortureverb (used with object)
-
self-torturedadjective
-
self-torturingadjective
-
torturableadjective
-
torturedadjective
-
torturesomeadjective
-
torturingadjective
-
untorturedadjective
-
torturedlyadverb
-
torturinglyadverb
-
torturouslyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
torturesimple
-
torturessimple
-
have torturedperfect
-
has torturedperfect
-
am torturingprogressive
-
are torturingprogressive
-
is torturingprogressive
-
have been torturingperfect progressive
-
has been torturingperfect progressive
Past
-
torturedsimple
-
had torturedperfect
-
was torturingprogressive
-
were torturingprogressive
-
had been torturingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing torture
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act III
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Twists and Turns: Tor
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
That Hurts! Synonyms for "Pain"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Congress has made it US policy not to deport people to countries where their lives would be in danger or they could be subject to torture.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
The Sept. 10-11 symposium in question examined the legal consequences of the U.S. response to the attacks, including torture, detention and government surveillance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
And yet, this villain’s fiery domain, where imps torture souls nearby, is also recognizably Dionysian.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
Israel’s internal security service, Shin Bet, had warned in 2024 that prison conditions could violate the U.N. convention against torture and called for greater Red Cross access.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
The next day at school, it seemed like the clock had stopped and the day was stuck in a never-ending torture of math and social studies and gym.
From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor
Open is often regarded as the most challenging of the four majors, and there isn’t a host that tortures the world’s best players quite like Shinnecock.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
Yet, Paltrow makes it look like easy lifting, as if dodging the universe’s cerebral tortures were as low-effort as the #BoyfriendBreakfasts she’s taken to posting on Instagram.
From Salon ● Dec. 22, 2025
“Have the merciless persecutions and unutterable tortures of the dark ages not yet opened their eyes and enlarged their heart for the alleviation of their fellow men’s woes?”
From Slate ● Apr. 10, 2025
I left them, so that’s what tortures me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2025
“Well, well. Won't Susan and Sandra like to hear about this. Their mother tortures an old lady so much that the girls are in danger of losing all of their cardigans and culottes.”
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Last weekend, a "Saturday Night Live" sketch cast him as a tortured figure, barely masking his dread of AI.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
But inside the brain trusts of Silicon Valley, billions of investor dollars and years of tortured rationalist arguments are clouding a similar argument about artificial intelligence.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
But that is the way much of Jordan’s narration reads, a mixture of traumatized testimony, tortured confession and furious screed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Eve resists scream-queen clichés, but Gemma’s boringly typical tortured backstory is as flat as her wan chemistry with Nick.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Before we got to a curve, Mr. Weaver applied the brakes, and the steel wheels of the locomotive and our man-trip squealed like a thousand tortured pigs.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
No one cues up Peggy Lee, but the torturing of Jerry West by Jerry West is epic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
She became a vegetarian, attacked the Chinese government for "torturing" bears, and spent hundreds of thousands on a programme to sterilise Romanian stray dogs.
From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2025
While the professionals scratch their heads, we can see that his acting out is only a reaction to whatever thing or condition or cosmological prank is torturing him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2024
“I do not believe that the U.S government is torturing or using these devices on its own citizens,” Zaid explained on the podcast.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2024
Another pain came, torturing me for my lies.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
