Library / English Dictionary

TORTURE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The deliberate, systematic, or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering by one or more persons in an attempt to force another person to yield information or to make a confession or for any other reason

Example:

it required unnatural torturing to extract a confession

Synonyms:

torture; torturing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("torture" is a kind of...):

persecution (the act of persecuting (especially on the basis of race or religion))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "torture"):

dismemberment; taking apart (the removal of limbs; being cut to pieces)

electric shock (the use of electricity to administer punishment or torture)

strapado; strappado (a form of torture in which the hands are tied behind a person's back and they are lifted off the ground by a rope tied to their wrists, then allowed to drop until their fall is checked with a jerk by the rope)

sleep deprivation (a form of psychological torture inflicted by depriving the victim of sleep)

sensory deprivation (a form of psychological torture inflicted by depriving the victim of all sensory input)

rack (a form of torture in which pain is inflicted by stretching the body)

prolonged interrogation (a form of psychological torture inflicted by questioning the victim for hours)

picket; piquet (a form of military punishment used by the British in the late 17th century in which a soldier was forced to stand on one foot on a pointed stake)

nail pulling; nail removal (a form of torture in which the fingernails or toenails are removed)

kittee (a form of torture used by American Indians in which sensitive parts of the body were squeezed between two boards until the victim could bear no more)

kia quen (a form of foot torture used by the Chinese in which the victim's foot was placed between three pieces of bamboo and systematically squeezed)

judicial torture (torture that is sanctioned by the state and executed by duly accredited officials)

genital torture (blunt or penetrating trauma or rape (vaginal or anal))

crucifixion; excruciation (the infliction of extremely painful punishment or suffering)

burning (a form of torture in which cigarettes or cigars or other hot implements are used to burn the victim's skin)

boot (a form of foot torture in which the feet are encased in iron and slowly crushed)

bastinado; falanga (a form of torture in which the soles of the feet are beaten with whips or cudgels)

Derivation:

torture (subject to torture)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Synonyms:

distortion; overrefinement; straining; torture; twisting

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("torture" is a kind of...):

falsification; misrepresentation (a willful perversion of facts)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain

Example:

the torments of the damned

Synonyms:

agony; torment; torture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("torture" is a kind of...):

hurt; suffering (feelings of mental or physical pain)

Derivation:

torture (torment emotionally or mentally)

torturous (extremely painful)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Extreme mental distress

Synonyms:

anguish; torment; torture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("torture" is a kind of...):

distress; hurt; suffering (psychological suffering)

Derivation:

torture (torment emotionally or mentally)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Unbearable physical pain

Synonyms:

torment; torture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("torture" is a kind of...):

hurting; pain (a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder)

Derivation:

torture (subject to torture)

torturous (extremely painful)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Subject to torture

Example:

The sinners will be tormented in Hell, according to the Bible

Synonyms:

excruciate; torment; torture

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "torture" is one way to...):

injure; wound (cause injuries or bodily harm to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "torture"):

rack (torture on the rack)

martyr; martyrise; martyrize (torture and torment like a martyr)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They want to torture the prisoners

Derivation:

torture (the deliberate, systematic, or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering by one or more persons in an attempt to force another person to yield information or to make a confession or for any other reason)

torture (unbearable physical pain)

torturer (someone who inflicts severe physical pain (usually for punishment or coercion))

torturing (the deliberate, systematic, or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering by one or more persons in an attempt to force another person to yield information or to make a confession or for any other reason)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Torment emotionally or mentally

Synonyms:

excruciate; rack; torment; torture

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "torture" is one way to...):

anguish; hurt; pain (cause emotional anguish or make miserable)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The bad news will torture him

Derivation:

torture (intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain)

torture (extreme mental distress)

torturer (someone who inflicts severe physical pain (usually for punishment or coercion))

Credits

 Context examples: 

But a justification so full of torture to herself, she trusted, would not be in his power.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Now, look you here, Jim Hawkins, he said in a steady whisper that was no more than audible, you're within half a plank of death, and what's a long sight worse, of torture.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

He was tortured by the exquisite beauty of the world, and wished that Ruth were there to share it with him.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

You know the weak side of her character, and may imagine the sentiments and expressions which were torturing me.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Unlike the tortured, geologically fresh landscape of the south, Enceladus' northern extremes are heavily cratered and ancient.

(Powering Saturn's Active Ocean Moon, NASA)

The low justice means that you may fleece him, and the middle that you may torture him, and the high that you may slay him.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I thought of the despairing yell of the tortured iguanodon—that dreadful cry which had echoed through the woods.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This tortured moon is embroiled in a gravitational tug-of-war between Jupiter and other Jovian satellites, causing intense tidal heating within its interior.

(Massive Lava Waves Detected on Solar System’s Most Volcanically Active Object, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

But if the narrowness of the village life chafed my easy spirit, it was a torture to the keen and ardent mind of Boy Jim.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

First, Mars in Sagittarius will signal Mercury, the ruler of your tenth house of professional standing and status, so no matter what comes up, this tells me that your reputation will stay secure, so don’t torture yourself with worries.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)