1
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
2
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of torture
Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026
The Senators announced on Thursday that their inquiry will focus on allegations of torture at the facility.
—Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 25 Mar. 2026
But Saleh has carved out a unique place for himself as an avatar for restrained, tortured, and resilient Arab male dignity.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for torture
Noun
In this week's Airmail article, for which Johnson refused interview requests, Loudenberg says her reporting did not uncover any cat torture or killing.
—Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026
The Senators announced on Thursday that their inquiry will focus on allegations of torture at the facility.
—Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
Verb
The Aquarion sale has had a long and tortured regulatory history, having been first proposed during a bitter, years-long standoff between the utility industry and former PURA Chairman Marissa Gillett.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 25 Mar. 2026
But Saleh has carved out a unique place for himself as an avatar for restrained, tortured, and resilient Arab male dignity.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for torture
Recent Examples of Synonyms for torture
Noun
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But after the brutal crash on the first run and a second run that wasn’t much better, the dream looked to be more of a nightmare.—
Gawon Bae,
CNN Money,
27 Mar. 2026
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But the party could face a nightmare scenario in the nation's most populous state, where polling shows Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco leading the pack in the June 2 nonpartisan primary.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Most Miami Beach residents and visitors have likely seen the giant bronze sculpture of an outstretched arm reaching to the sky as hundreds of small human figures cling to it and each other with expressions of agony.—
Lauren Costantino
March 27,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
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But in the short term, the decision is likely to be popular with millions of Americans who’ve seen all the airport agony and have never liked the idea of using federal government shutdowns — of any kind, by either party — to win partisan policy fights.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile, some good news is in the forecast for the drought- and heat-plagued West, as a cool, wet and even snowy pattern is forecast to bring some relief that's desperately needed across the region.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2026
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While the company ultimately plans to build a 104-station tunnel network beneath Las Vegas, the project has also been plagued by safety issues, accidents, and scandals.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In a blog post Wednesday, the exchange said that crypto projects cannot have any revenue-sharing models with market makers, and that market makers also cannot engage with projects to manipulate prices or distort liquidity of the tokens.—
Muyao Shen,
Bloomberg,
25 Mar. 2026
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Others think that their time and resources are better spent elsewhere — or, worse, that a Lean-centric approach will distort the true value of mathematics.—
Leila Sloman,
Quanta Magazine,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The transition from agricultural employment to factory employment involved wrenching mass migration, the utter misery of the Great Depression (as well as other brutal recessions, now faded from collective memory), and the painful dealmaking of the New Deal.—
Annie Lowrey,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
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In contrast, his wife, Chandravati, is selfish as a daughter-in-law and disrespects Swasthani, leading to enormous misery for her.—
Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz,
The Conversation,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In recent years, the military has become increasingly dependent on chaplains to help address the growing numbers of troops in mental health distress.—
Tiffany Stanley,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Mar. 2026
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For the controller handling both ground and tower communications in this period, the United flight’s distress was a significant situation that posed its own concerns.—
Colleen Mondor,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The helpless and much persecuted turtles were cooked in a rich, creamy soup with chunks of meat.—
James Stout,
Outside,
29 Mar. 2026
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The Iranian regime has persecuted members of her own family.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In another part of the factory, a worker used a wooden stick, like a tongue compressor at a doctor’s office, to scrape excess bits of explosive out of the grooves inside each shell, ensuring that the base would screw on smoothly.—
Simon Shuster,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
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The result is that many contestants are frequent collaborators and have long histories with one another, adding extra juice to their attempts to screw each other over.—
Claire McNear,
Rolling Stone,
18 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Torture.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torture. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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