torture
Americannoun
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tortures
plural
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the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty.
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a method of inflicting such pain.
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Often tortures. the pain or suffering caused or undergone.
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extreme anguish of body or mind; agony.
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a cause of severe pain or anguish.
verb (used with object)
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tortures,
present (3rd person singular)
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tortured,
past participle, past
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torturing
present participle
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to subject to torture.
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to afflict with severe pain of body or mind.
My back is torturing me.
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to force or extort by torture.
We'll torture the truth from his lips!
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to twist, force, or bring into some unnatural position or form.
trees tortured by storms.
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to distort or pervert (language, meaning, etc.).
verb
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to cause extreme physical pain to, esp in order to extract information, break resistance, etc
to torture prisoners
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to give mental anguish to
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to twist into a grotesque form
noun
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physical or mental anguish
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the practice of torturing a person
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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
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pretorturenoun
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self-torturenoun
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torturernoun
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overtortureverb (used with object)
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self-torturedadjective
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self-torturingadjective
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torturableadjective
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torturedadjective
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torturesomeadjective
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torturingadjective
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untorturedadjective
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torturedlyadverb
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torturinglyadverb
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torturouslyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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torturesimple
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torturessimple
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have torturedperfect
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has torturedperfect
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am torturingprogressive
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are torturingprogressive
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is torturingprogressive
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have been torturingperfect progressive
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has been torturingperfect progressive
Past
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torturedsimple
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had torturedperfect
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was torturingprogressive
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were torturingprogressive
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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
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Twists and Turns: Tor
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That Hurts! Synonyms for "Pain"
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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:
It’s a unique form of torture that anyone who’s been to a fertility clinic will know all too well.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
That’s why stories about AI bots being put into virtual torture chambers aren’t just silly, but foregrounds the false notion that AI is capable of suffering.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 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
Anthony Douglas said years of waiting had been "torture" for his son and his family as they remained in "limbo" over his future.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
And writing outside of school was straight-up torture.
From "Monday's Not Coming" by Tiffany D. Jackson
This involves choosing a patron saint, and Michael speaks with the wild enthusiasm of a Marvel movie fanboy about his likely decision, St. George, who endures various grisly tortures but remains steadfast.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 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
Marie-Laure tortures herself with daydreams of feasts laid out on long tables: platters of sliced pork loin, roasted apples, banana flambe, pineapples with whipped cream.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
If the Dodgers win the series, the Milwaukee winter could be cold and long, with fans tortured by visions of Skubal and presumptive Cy Young winner Jacob Misiorowski starting four games in the series.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
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
Three Egyptian security officials have been convicted by a Rome court over the kidnapping of an Italian student whose tortured body was found in Cairo a decade ago.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 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
Although tortured by worry, he remained outwardly unperturbed.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
Her prose is exact and exquisite, as when describing Clare: “The soft white face, the bright hair, the disturbing scarlet mouth, the dreaming eyes, the caressing smile, the whole torturing loveliness.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
India's batters are torturing England in this series.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 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
DAD: I’m sorry your friend died, Veer, but you have to find a time to move on and stop torturing yourself.
From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
