Synonyms of tormenting

tormenting 1 of 2

adjective

1

as in painful

hard to accept or bear especially emotionally

it was a tormenting moment as they helplessly watched the other team score in the final seconds of the game

Synonyms & Similar Words

• painful
• cruel
• torturous
• harsh
• agonizing
• hurtful
• bitter
• horrible
• excruciating
• terrible
• harrowing
• severe
• afflicting
• grievous
• galling
• unbearable
• unacceptable
• awful
• dreadful
• heartrending
• intolerable
• miserable
• insufferable
• unendurable
• bad
• vile
• insupportable
• intense
• appalling
• dire
• ghastly
• acute
• wretched
• nasty
• extreme
• rotten
• piercing
• unsupportable

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• gratifying
• pleasing
• sweet
• bearable
• tolerable
• endurable
• sustainable
• acceptable
• survivable
• supportable
• allowable
• livable
• reasonable
• sufferable

2

as in torturing

intensely or unbearably painful

a tormenting injury

Synonyms & Similar Words

• torturing
• wrenching
• torturous
• agonizing
• excruciating
• intense
• raging
• harrowing
• biting
• violent
• racking
• extreme
• acute
• fierce
• exquisite
• stabbing
• tearing
• penetrating
• shooting
• vehement
• stinging
• piercing
• cutting
• sharp
• tingling
• smarting

tormenting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of torment

as in plaguing

to cause persistent suffering to

he was tormented by nightmares about the accident

Synonyms & Similar Words

• plaguing
• persecuting
• afflicting
• torturing
• besieging
• attacking
• cursing
• bothering
• bedeviling
• excruciating
• agonizing
• harrowing
• anguishing
• besetting
• racking
• stinging
• troubling
• harassing
• pursuing
• disturbing
• assailing
• pestering
• badgering
• aggravating
• hounding
• distressing
• striking
• oppressing
• annoying
• irritating
• dogging
• molesting
• exasperating
• trying
• worrying
• riding
• harrying
• upsetting
• bugging
• hurting
• agitating
• riling
• overwhelming
• grieving
• vexing
• discomforting
• tyrannizing
• perturbing
• nettling
• irking
• stressing
• stabbing
• victimizing
• disquieting
• griping
• chafing
• crushing
• smiting
• galling
• grating
• overpowering
• rasping
• straining
• piquing
• smarting
• flustering
• pricking
• getting
• putting out
• wringing
• paining
• peeving
• discomposing
• hagriding
• martyring
• panging

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• helping
• assisting
• aiding
• abetting
• relieving
• delivering
• releasing
• comforting
• consoling
• soothing
• contenting
• quieting
• solacing
• reprieving
• succoring

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tormenting

Verb

The final scene shows the Bowden family grilling in that same backyard on a sunny day, seemingly happy with Max no longer tormenting them. — Benjamin Vanhoose, PEOPLE, 31 July 2026

Picture LeBron in his advanced age tormenting the Knicks one more time, denying them a two-peat, before beating the Spurs or Thunder in the finals. — Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 30 July 2026

Aemond raves about his horrible older brother who spent their youth tormenting him. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026

But your dad doesn’t need to be a celeb to enjoy the simple pleasures of tormenting him. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 9 July 2026

Rumor has it that Steve Spurrier could be the favorite, which would be hilarious given Spurrier's history of tormenting the Vols. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 May 2026

But the man hung himself, most likely due to Duncan tormenting him relentlessly like a jock pranking a nerd in an ‘80s campus comedy. — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 12 Apr. 2026

With the help of journalist Gerrick Kennedy, the memoir details Brandy's meteoric rise to fame as a young teen while volleying ambition, exhaustion and self-doubt, moving through a predatory and tormenting industry and being misunderstood in the public eye. — Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2026

In another, more recent case, three Wyoming men were charged with tormenting a moose by trying to ride it. — Wendy Keefover, Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2026