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:
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
Antonyms:

Other Word Forms of Torture

Noun

Singular:
torture
Plural:
tortures

Origin 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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