as in tease
a person who causes repeated emotional pain, distress, or annoyance to another
a sadistic torturer of men he regarded as weak, the drillmaster really had it in for one recruit
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of torturer
Red is immediately abducted, cut open in an ambulance, and injected with pain-magnifying drugs by his torturers, while Liz accidentally murders the mysterious man surveilling her next door.
—
Ew Staff,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 June 2026
Aaron escapes his torturers, first by rooting himself in the town’s only movie theater open to Black people, and then by lying about his age and enlisting in the Navy at 16.
—
Meredith Maran,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
Incredibly, one of Schiller's torturers, Jorge Delgado - the Sun Gym member who had first told Lugo about Schiller and his millions - ended up helping the federal government make their case.
—
Troy Roberts,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
His torturers shattered his hands and paraded him around the stadium, taunting him to try to play his guitar.
—
Christina Hioureas,
Rolling Stone,
22 Mar. 2026
Others refuse to lower themselves to the level of their torturers.
—
Karl Vick,
Time,
13 Mar. 2026
In an early scene, an auto mechanic named Vahid recognizes his former torturer by the distinctive squeak of his prosthetic leg.
—
Cora Engelbrecht,
New Yorker,
1 Mar. 2026
The film, which looks at a former political prisoner who considers violent revenge against his prison torturer, was co-written by Panahi, Mahmoudian, Nader Saeiver and Shadhmer Rastin.
—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Feb. 2026
In addition, my torturers repeatedly provided pieces of information that could prove helpful in identifying them as part of investigations by the FBI and other agencies.
—
Elizabeth Tsurkov,
The Atlantic,
11 Jan. 2026
Ew Staff,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 June 2026
Aaron escapes his torturers, first by rooting himself in the town’s only movie theater open to Black people, and then by lying about his age and enlisting in the Navy at 16.
—
Meredith Maran,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
Incredibly, one of Schiller's torturers, Jorge Delgado - the Sun Gym member who had first told Lugo about Schiller and his millions - ended up helping the federal government make their case.
—
Troy Roberts,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
His torturers shattered his hands and paraded him around the stadium, taunting him to try to play his guitar.
—
Christina Hioureas,
Rolling Stone,
22 Mar. 2026
Others refuse to lower themselves to the level of their torturers.
—
Karl Vick,
Time,
13 Mar. 2026
In an early scene, an auto mechanic named Vahid recognizes his former torturer by the distinctive squeak of his prosthetic leg.
—
Cora Engelbrecht,
New Yorker,
1 Mar. 2026
The film, which looks at a former political prisoner who considers violent revenge against his prison torturer, was co-written by Panahi, Mahmoudian, Nader Saeiver and Shadhmer Rastin.
—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Feb. 2026
In addition, my torturers repeatedly provided pieces of information that could prove helpful in identifying them as part of investigations by the FBI and other agencies.
—
Elizabeth Tsurkov,
The Atlantic,
11 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for torturer
Noun
-
The series was meant to have a three-season arc, now cut short, despite a cliffhanger tease of what was to come at the end of season 1.
-
They are all stuffed into selections from the adults-only section of a Spirit Halloween store and made to perform amateur strip teases for their fellow Islanders — all strapped to heart-rate monitors — to see who can raise whose heart rate the most.
Noun
-
So Jacob is now related to his tormentor.
-
Crucial events morphed into massive set pieces, like Louis hunting down Claudia’s killers by setting their theater on fire, exploding the motorcycles of the vampires who fled the inferno, and eventually bursting out of a manhole to behead Claudia’s main tormenter.
Noun
-
Still, the star did not name her harassers.
-
Most harassers do not harass others in front of someone else.
Noun
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Third-graders would learn about the Road to Damascus, which tells the story of Paul’s transformation from an early persecutor of Christians into a follower.
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Third graders would learn about the Road to Damascus, which tells the story of Paul's transformation from an early persecutor of Christians into a follower.
Noun
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Anyone who thinks the only alternative to being a victim is to be a victimizer is missing some important possibilities.
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Even if online shaming continues, this accountability will make sure that the victimizer will face social consequences as well.
Noun
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Hurd was seen fist-bumping another attacker moments after deputies intervened, Madden Ragland said.
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In practice, this means understanding which tools may be used against you, how audience perception can be manipulated, what sequence of actions attackers typically follow, and which methods are deployed at different stages of a campaign.
Cite this Entry
“Torturer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torturer. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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