Link Centre Dictionary

torture

tor·ture

UK/ˈtɔːt͡ʃə/ US/ˈtʰɔːt͡ʃə/ common
verb (2) noun (5)

verb

1.
2.

subject to torture

  • “The sinners will be tormented in Hell, according to the Bible”
Synonyms

noun

1.
2.
3.

intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain

  • “an agony of doubt”
  • “the torments of the damned”
Synonyms
4.

the act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean

Synonyms
5.

the act of torturing someone

  • “it required unnatural torturing to extract a confession”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English torture, from Old French torture, from Late Latin tortūra (“a twisting, writhing, of bodily pain, a griping colic;” in Medieval Latin “pain inflicted by judicial or ecclesiastical authority as a means of persuasion, torture”), from Latin tortus (whence also tort), past participle of torquēre (“to twist”).

Phrases

  • bamboo torture
  • C & B torture
  • C and B torture
  • C&B torture
  • Chinese water torture
  • surf torture
  • torture chamber
  • torture stake

Related words

Word family

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.