torture
Americannoun
-
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)
-
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
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
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.
He’s not saying that immigrants always have to be believed when they say they fear torture or persecution in a certain country.
From Slate • Feb. 28, 2026
For other kinds of travelers, that sounds like torture.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026
The fund, now imperiled, helps survivors recover from torture in the U.S. and around the world.
From Salon • Jan. 7, 2026
In 2021 he was convicted of "spreading fake news" for sharing a Facebook post about torture, in a trial that was widely condemned as unfair by human rights groups.
From BBC • Dec. 30, 2025
“No sorry needed. It will torture her to know she’s doomed. So what about the black cat phone number? Any progress?”
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
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.
