Torture Definition
tôrchər
tortured, tortures, torturing
noun
tortures
The inflicting of severe pain, often, specif., in order to obtain information or a confession, get revenge, etc.
Webster's New World
Any method by which such pain is inflicted.
Webster's New World
Any severe physical or mental pain; agony; anguish.
Webster's New World
A cause of such pain or agony.
Webster's New World
A violent twisting, distortion, perversion, etc.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
- agony
- torment
- anguish
- twisting
- straining
- overrefinement
- distortion
- torturing
- bed of Procrustes
- hell-on-earth
- mental suffering
- physical suffering
- twinge
- ache
- dolor
verb
tortured, tortures, torturing
To subject to torture.
Webster's New World
To cause extreme physical or mental pain to; agonize.
Webster's New World
To twist or distort (meaning, language, etc.)
Webster's New World
To overwork, misinterpret, or distort.
Torture a metaphor throughout an essay; torture a rule to make it fit a case.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
Other Word Forms of Torture
Noun
Singular:
torture
Plural:
torturesOrigin of Torture
-
From Late Latin tortura (“a twisting, wreathing, of bodily pain, a griping colic, Middle Latin pain inflicted by judicial or ecclesiastical authority as a means of persuasion, torture"), from Latin tortus, past participle of torquere (“to twist").
From Wiktionary
-
Middle English from Old French from Late Latin tortūra from Latin tortus past participle of torquēre to twist terkw- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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