torture

UK: /ˈtɔː^rtʃə^r/ US: /ˈtɔrtʃɚ/ ,(tôr′chər)

Inflections of 'torture' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

tortures

v 3rd person singular

torturing

v pres p

tortured

v past

tortured

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

tor•ture /ˈtɔrtʃɚ/   n., v., -tured, -tur•ing. 
n. 

1. the act of causing great pain, as punishment or revenge, for getting a confession or information, or for cruelty's sake:
   [uncountable] The interrogator was a master of torture.
2. a method of causing or giving such pain:
   [countable] different tortures, like whipping and electric shocks.
3. a cause of pain or anguish:
   [uncountable] It was torture for him to watch his old girlfriend walk by with another guy.

v. [~ + object]

4. to force to undergo torture:
   tortured the prisoner for hours.
5. to cause to undergo great pain or mental suffering:
   to be tortured with bad memories.

tor•tur•er, n. [countable]
tor•tur•ous, adj. See -tort-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

tor•ture  (tôr′chər), n., v., -tured, -tur•ing. 
n. 

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.

v.t. 

6. to subject to torture.
7. to afflict with severe pain of body or mind:
   My back is torturing me.
8. to force or extort by torture:
   We'll torture the truth from his lips!
9. to twist, force, or bring into some unnatural position or form:
   trees tortured by storms.
10. to distort or pervert (language, meaning, etc.).

• Late Latin tortūra a twisting, torment, torture. See tort, -ure
• 1530–40

tor ′tur•a•ble, adj. 
tor ′tured•ly, adv. 
tor ′tur•er, n. 
tor ′ture•some, adj. 
tor ′tur•ing•ly, adv. 
Synonyms

• 6. See torment.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

torture / ˈtɔːtʃə/ verb (transitive)

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

Etymology: 16th Century: from Late Latin tortūra a twisting, from torquēre to twist

ˈtorturer noun

ˈtorturesome, ˈtorturous adjective

ˈtorturously adverb

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