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

One night he listened to a friendly old man slowly die alone in the next cell after a bout of torture.

From Time

These were people who had just escaped the most horrific abuse and torture, and violation from their own families.

From Washington Blade

She wrote her resident’s thesis on political disappearances and torture cases archived by the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey.

From Time

The same month, President Buhari signed into law the Anti-Torture Act, which criminalized torture.

From Time

Many of them live in secrecy for fear of torture and execution.

From MIT Technology Review

But Chechen leader Kadyrov does not think that Committee Against Torture was needed in Chechnya.

From The Daily Beast

Torture, the UVa rape, police violence—we hunger for the facts, and then twist them.

From The Daily Beast

He also wrote, “Torture is not a thing that we can tolerate.”

From The Daily Beast

White House Must Decide Who Will Be Named in the CIA ‘Torture Report’

From The Daily Beast

Looking for a place to go, Alyokhina called her friends at a local human rights center, the Committee Against Torture.

From The Daily Beast

Torture may change your mind, as shame shall change your body.

From Project Gutenberg

Torture indescribable has made of me a writhing, moaning, helpless creature for the past few minutes.

From Project Gutenberg

Torture was still employed in capital cases to force confession even in Holland and France.

From Project Gutenberg

Hercules in all the extremity of his Torture does not fall foul upon Religion.

From Project Gutenberg

Torture was, therefore, at once employed to discover the hidden treasures.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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