TORTURE Synonyms: 177 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'torture' different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of torture are afflict , rack , torment , and try . While all these words mean "to inflict on a person something that is hard to bear," torture adds the implication of causing unbearable pain or suffering. // tortured by a sense of guilt

Q: When is it sensible to use 'afflict' instead of 'torture'?

While the synonyms afflict and torture are close in meaning, afflict is a general term and applies to the causing of pain or suffering or of acute annoyance, embarrassment, or any distress. // ills that afflict the elderly

Q: When would 'rack' be a good substitute for 'torture'?

The words rack and torture are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, rack stresses straining or wrenching. // a body racked by pain

Q: In what contexts can 'torment' take the place of 'torture'?

The synonyms torment and torture are sometimes interchangeable, but torment suggests persecution or the repeated inflicting of suffering or annoyance. // a horse tormented by flies

Q: Where would 'try' be a reasonable alternative to 'torture'?

The meanings of try and torture largely overlap; however, try suggests imposing something that strains the powers of endurance or of self-control. // children often try their parents' patience

torture 1 of 2

noun

ˈtȯr-chər

Definition of torture

as in nightmare

a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness it's torture for me to see you so unhappy

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in agony

a state of great suffering of body or mind spent an afternoon in torture waiting to hear whether her brother had made it home safely

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

torture

2 of 2

verb

as in to plague

to cause persistent suffering to the neighbor's dog constantly tortures our cat, barking at him and chasing him down the street

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to distort

to twist (something) out of a natural or normal shape or condition tortured her naturally straight hair into curls

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word torture different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of torture are afflict, rack, torment, and try. While all these words mean "to inflict on a person something that is hard to bear," torture adds the implication of causing unbearable pain or suffering.

tortured by a sense of guilt

When is it sensible to use afflict instead of torture?

While the synonyms afflict and torture are close in meaning, afflict is a general term and applies to the causing of pain or suffering or of acute annoyance, embarrassment, or any distress.

ills that afflict the elderly

When would rack be a good substitute for torture?

The words rack and torture are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, rack stresses straining or wrenching.

a body racked by pain

In what contexts can torment take the place of torture?

The synonyms torment and torture are sometimes interchangeable, but torment suggests persecution or the repeated inflicting of suffering or annoyance.

a horse tormented by flies

Where would try be a reasonable alternative to torture?

The meanings of try and torture largely overlap; however, try suggests imposing something that strains the powers of endurance or of self-control.

children often try their parents' patience

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of torture

Noun

The bill seeks to replace legislation that critics say has enabled arbitrary detention and the torture of detainees for decades in Sri Lanka. — ABC News, 6 Nov. 2026 The two concepts are inextricably connected, with one person’s perfect society being another’s torture dungeon. — Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2026

Verb

Ng, along with his accomplice Leonard Lake, tortured and killed at least a dozen people at their Calaveras County cabin in the 1980s. — Sacbee.com, 5 Nov. 2026 South Africa is plagued by high rates of violence, and some Afrikaners have been tortured and murdered. — Sharon Lerner, ProPublica, 5 Nov. 2026 See All Example Sentences for torture

Recent Examples of Synonyms for torture

Noun

Keeping your porch looking its best will become a maintenance nightmare.

— Tim Carter, Hartford Courant, 7 Nov. 2026
Druski played a nightmare birthday girl in another sketch going off on her friend Tina (Veronika Slowikowska) for eating fajitas and wearing a black bodycon dress.

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 7 Nov. 2026

Definition of nightmare

Noun

Taking the McDavid minutes away gives us the purest form of agony these defencemen are experiencing at this time.

— Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2026
The prisoner in question, Doug Korpi, had also admitted that his agony was an act to journalist Ben Blum, who included the revelation in a broader takedown of the experiment published in 2018.

— Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of agony

Verb

Neighbors, who had previously reported being plagued by the nuisance animal for months, were shocked to see the same coyote appearing in their yards and approaching them in the street.

— Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 11 Nov. 2026
Sánchez's family has also been plagued by corruption scandals.

— Natalie Feary, CNBC, 11 Nov. 2026

Definition of plague

Verb

The mathematical description of how a telescope distorts a point of light is called its point spread function.

— John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 5 Nov. 2026
In both films, everything comes in threes, the incessant crosscutting is accorded a flashy metaphysical weight, and time itself is manipulated, distorted, and rearranged to the point of meaninglessness.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of distort

Verb

His Federal Communications Commission has persecuted TV networks and sought to muzzle late-night comedians who bruise the president’s ever-so-fragile feelings.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2026
The Paxton campaign decried the reporting, without denying it, while saying he had been politically persecuted.

— Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of persecute

Verb

David’s view The modern left is at its most powerful inside the Democratic Party after the party screws things up.

— David Weigel, semafor.com, 10 Nov. 2026
But if that’s what being an American means, many Latinos said on Tuesday, then screw assimilation.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026

Definition of screw

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tortuous

torture

tortured

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“Torture.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torture. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of torture

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verb

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