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)

, tor·tured, tor·tur·ing.

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

Derived Forms

• ˈtorturously, adverb
• ˈtorturer, noun
• ˈtorturingly, adverb
• ˈtorturing, adjective
• ˈtortured, adjective
• ˈtorturesome, adjective
• ˈtorturedly, adverb

Other Words From

• 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) overtortured overtorturing
• pre·torture noun verb (used with object) pretortured pretorturing
• self-torture noun
• self-tortured adjective
• self-tortur·ing adjective
• un·tortured 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

Prison conditions are tough; torture is rife.

From Salon

Two women have been jailed for their part in a monkey torture ring and behaviour described by the judge as "depraved, sickening and wicked".

From BBC

Orme, meanwhile, pleaded guilty to publishing an obscene article by uploading one image and 26 videos of monkey torture, and to having encouraged or assisted the commission of unnecessary suffering by making a £10 payment to a PayPal account.

From BBC

"You promoted the physical torture of monkeys by others, you shared videos and images of such torture and abuse, retained images and videos for what appeared to be your own pleasure and amusement," he said.

From BBC

He told Le Gresley she had "caused significant pain, torture and death to the monkeys in Indonesia".

From BBC

Related Words

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