1
as in nightmares
a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness
the released soldiers gave interviews trying to explain to civilians the torment that prisoners of war experience
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in distresses
a state of great suffering of body or mind
was in torment for weeks after he broke up with his girlfriend
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in demons
a source of persistent emotional distress
insomnia that was caused by a host of nighttime torments
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in plagues
to cause persistent suffering to
he was tormented by nightmares about the accident
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of torments
Jake Lundberg, The Atlantic, 19 Feb. 2026
As a poet, publisher, and public intellectual, Ferlinghetti spent the rest of his career resisting the very torments Judge Horn said haunted the post-war world.
—Gioia Woods, Literary Hub, 6 Feb. 2026
Denver author Josiah Hesse was raised by Evangelical parents in churches that believe in the torments of hell, that their poverty is due to their sinfulness and lack of faith.
—Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2026
The author delves into the torments PTSD causes Vietnam veterans as well as family dynamics.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 21 Dec. 2025
Hell is nevertheless filled with bloody and horrific torments.
—Claudia Roth Pierpont, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
But true to its Old Testament inspiration and underlying theology, there’s no knowing why God has sent these torments to Jacob and his town.
—Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Morgan Phillips, FOXNews.com, 15 Dec. 2025
Decades before Pennywise torments the Loser's Club, members of the Maine Legion of White Decency, a white supremacist group, set fire to the Black Spot, a military speakeasy catering to Black patrons, with all of its revelers trapped inside.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Dec. 2025
Jigsaw torments blind guys, too.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 7 Nov. 2025
Hurricane Melissa torments Jamaica 'There have been loud bangs on the ceiling, and our doors are shaking.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 29 Oct. 2025
The Grabber hounds Finn through an old phone booth and torments Gwen through her dreams.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
Noun
In that final part of the cycle—the writing part—were torments, perhaps even tortures, but good things happened.
—Jake Lundberg, The Atlantic, 19 Feb. 2026
As a poet, publisher, and public intellectual, Ferlinghetti spent the rest of his career resisting the very torments Judge Horn said haunted the post-war world.
—Gioia Woods, Literary Hub, 6 Feb. 2026
Denver author Josiah Hesse was raised by Evangelical parents in churches that believe in the torments of hell, that their poverty is due to their sinfulness and lack of faith.
—Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2026
The author delves into the torments PTSD causes Vietnam veterans as well as family dynamics.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 21 Dec. 2025
Hell is nevertheless filled with bloody and horrific torments.
—Claudia Roth Pierpont, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
But true to its Old Testament inspiration and underlying theology, there’s no knowing why God has sent these torments to Jacob and his town.
—Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Verb
That fear that torments families.
—Morgan Phillips, FOXNews.com, 15 Dec. 2025
Decades before Pennywise torments the Loser's Club, members of the Maine Legion of White Decency, a white supremacist group, set fire to the Black Spot, a military speakeasy catering to Black patrons, with all of its revelers trapped inside.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Dec. 2025
Jigsaw torments blind guys, too.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 7 Nov. 2025
Hurricane Melissa torments Jamaica 'There have been loud bangs on the ceiling, and our doors are shaking.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 29 Oct. 2025
The Grabber hounds Finn through an old phone booth and torments Gwen through her dreams.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for torments
Noun
-
Kayce’s days are spent wrangling horses, and his evenings being haunted by nightmares of tragedies past.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Audre Lorde kept track of her nightmares and talked about going from the nightmare to the poem.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The hottest mess in this brood, at least from outward appearances, is Josh (Thomas Sadoski), a firefighter battling demons, pills and booze.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2026
-
The bought-in blue demons knew early on in the second year under Holtmann that a turnaround season was possible.—
Jori Parys,
CBS News,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
While a fuel crisis plagues the people of Lagos, Nigeria, a young cab driver dreams of a better life.—
Jourdain Searles,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Notably from a distribution standpoint, Double Vision’s sister production services business will assist with everything from music clearances – something that plagues many microdrama makers – and format bibles to localization services and local productions in key markets.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Hadi’s exceptional attention gives cinematic identity to collective artisanal energy, to the life force of care and devotion that stands outside the agonies of politics, to the spirit that endures a regime and outlives it.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
After a whole season exploring the pains of being an illegitimate child and fears of pregnancy, Sophie and Benedict are now free to have children that would be welcomed warmly into society.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
27 Feb. 2026
-
But these are the standard-issue growing pains the NHL routinely beats into developing rosters.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
What could be worse than these twin terrors?—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Almost every one of Arsenal’s title-winning seasons in living memory has had a moment where the terrors set in.—
Amy Lawrence,
New York Times,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
China, which jails human rights activists in Hong Kong, persecutes Uyghurs, has killed hundreds of thousands of Tibetans and has committed genocide against the Falun Gong, is on the UN Human Rights Council.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
In Russia, the civilian repressive apparatus persecutes the military, which leaps at every chance for revenge.—
Stephen Kotkin,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
In that final part of the cycle—the writing part—were torments, perhaps even tortures, but good things happened.—
Jake Lundberg,
The Atlantic,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Former Jews deemed insufficiently converted faced the Spanish Inquisition’s tortures.—
David Bloom,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Torments.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torments. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.
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