| Library / English Dictionary |
TORTURING
| 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 ("torturing" 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 "torturing"):
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)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Extremely painful
Synonyms:
agonising; agonizing; excruciating; harrowing; torturesome; torturing; torturous
Classified under:
Similar:
painful (causing physical or psychological pain)
III. (verb)
Sense 1
-ing form of the verb torture
