torture

[ tawr-cher ]

See synonyms for: torture tortured torturing torturesome on Thesaurus.com

noun

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),tor·tured, tor·tur·ing.

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.).

Origin of torture

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

synonym study For torture

6. See torment.

Other words from torture

tor·tur·a·ble, adjective
tor·tured·ly, adverb
tor·tur·er, noun
tor·ture·some, adjective
tor·tur·ing·ly, adverb
o·ver·tor·ture, verb (used with object), o·ver·tor·tured, o·ver·tor·tur·ing.
pre·tor·ture, noun, verb (used with object), pre·tor·tured, pre·tor·tur·ing.
self-torture, noun
self-tortured, adjective
self-tor·tur·ing, adjective
un·tor·tured, adjective

Words Nearby torture

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use torture in a sentence

One night he listened to a friendly old man slowly die alone in the next cell after a bout of torture.
Islamist Terrorism Is Not Done With Us, Warns Former al Qaeda Hostage Theo Padnos | Karl Vick | February 25, 2021 | Time
These were people who had just escaped the most horrific abuse and torture, and violation from their own families.
Witness to the horrors in Chechnya | John Paul King | February 25, 2021 | Washington Blade
She wrote her resident’s thesis on political disappearances and torture cases archived by the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey.
The 'Badass Chief of Staff' of Turkey's Opposition Faces Years in Jail After Challenging Erdogan's Power. She's Not Backing Down | Joseph Hincks / Istanbul | February 24, 2021 | Time
The same month, President Buhari signed into law the Anti-torture Act, which criminalized torture.
The Nigerian Government Has Pledged to #EndSARS and Reform the Police. This Isn't the First Time They've Made That Promise | Andrew R. Chow | October 28, 2020 | Time
Many of them live in secrecy for fear of torture and execution.
Inside the strange new world of being a deepfake actor | Karen Hao | October 9, 2020 | MIT Technology Review

But Chechen leader Kadyrov does not think that Committee Against torture was needed in Chechnya.
Putin’s Favorite Acolyte Terrorizes Human Rights Activists | Anna Nemtsova | December 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
torture, the UVa rape, police violence—we hunger for the facts, and then twist them.
On Torture, Chuck Johnson & Sondheim | James Poulos | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He also wrote, “torture is not a thing that we can tolerate.”
The Luxury Homes That Torture and Your Tax Dollars Built | Michael Daly | December 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
White House Must Decide Who Will Be Named in the CIA ‘torture Report’
The Best of the Beast, Aug 9-10 | | August 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Looking for a place to go, Alyokhina called her friends at a local human rights center, the Committee Against torture.
Pussy Riot Roars Out of Prison | Anna Nemtsova | December 23, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
torture may change your mind, as shame shall change your body.
The Proud Prince | Justin Huntly McCarthy
torture indescribable has made of me a writhing, moaning, helpless creature for the past few minutes.
The Sorrows of Satan | Marie Corelli
torture was still employed in capital cases to force confession even in Holland and France.
Boswell's Correspondence with the Honourable Andrew Erskine, and His Journal of a Tour to Corsica | James Boswell
Hercules in all the extremity of his torture does not fall foul upon Religion.
A Short View of the Immorality, and Profaneness of the English Stage | Jeremy Collier
torture was, therefore, at once employed to discover the hidden treasures.
The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. X (of X) - America - II, Index | Various

British Dictionary definitions for torture

torture

/ (ˈtɔːtʃə) /

verb(tr)

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

Origin of torture

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

usage For torture

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

Derived forms of torture

tortured, adjective
torturedly, adverb
torturer, noun
torturesome or torturous, adjective
torturing, adjective
torturingly, adverb
torturously, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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