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

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

Those mistakes neutralized some exciting attacking play from Austin FC, which spent the 90 minutes tormenting Minnesota United down the left flank. — David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 21 Feb. 2026

While the dogs are now safe with foster families, Holmes faces multiple charges, including confining an animal without sufficient food or water, keeping animals in an enclosure without exercise or air, and tormenting or depriving an animal. — Nikiya Carrero, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026

The self-torturing helices of thought twisting inside the young minds on the courts are no less fraught than the recursive neuroses tormenting the addicts down the hill. — Hermione Hoby, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026