1
as in persecuted
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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2
as in distorted
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
as in tormented
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Recent Examples of tortured
Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
As a result, many legends are connected to its violent past, and its dungeon, in particular, is said to be haunted by tortured souls.
—Sophie Friedman, AFAR Media, 22 Oct. 2025
The film is a more quiet, wintry contemplation and tortured soul-searching.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 22 Oct. 2025
Frankenstein's monster is a tortured fellow who's not a big fan of flames.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 14 Oct. 2025
Despite appearances to the contrary—the swirling sentences, the feverish intellection—there is nothing hermetic about Krasznahorkai’s work, both old and new, which squarely faces contemporary European reality and its perils, including the tortured dynamics of settlement, movement, and identity.
—James Wood, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2025
From early on, the tortured family dynamic becomes clear, explaining Nessa’s reasons for turning to Ray for help.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2025
The push to impose regional taxes in the Bay Area has a tortured history.
—Jon Coupal, Oc Register, 27 Sep. 2025
Isaacs plays Timothy, the tortured patriarch of the Ratliff family, on season 3 of The White Lotus.
—Carson Blackwelder, People.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Omar Jimenez, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2025
Another 11 suspected Tren de Aragua members were hit with multiple felony charges in December after a couple living in the now-shuttered Edge of Lowry apartments was kidnapped and tortured.
—John Aguilar, Denver Post, 25 Oct. 2025
Khaled was briefly transferred to Ofer Prison, where Adnan al-Bursh, an orthopedic surgeon who once led Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, had died in 2024, after being tortured.
—Mosab Abu Toha, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
Over five years, the couple allegedly tortured her and embezzled her money, per prosecutors.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
Elsewhere, the details lifted from the book suffer in translation – Branagh’s Victor is appropriately arrogant but not adequately tortured; De Niro’s Monster is sensitive and intuitive, but drowns in the film’s hurried, hollow second half.
—Rory Doherty, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
In Elordi’s hands, the creature is a sensitive soul tortured by his own existence.
—Lindsey Bahr, Boston Herald, 17 Oct. 2025
To the thousands of Syrians who lost loved ones, or were tortured, imprisoned or displaced by the Assad regime, their homeland had become a crime scene from which the top suspects disappeared en masse.
—Danny Makki, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Many who remember the trajectory of the Expos franchise in the 1990s remain tortured by how close the team came to turning things around.
—Jon Paul Hoornstra, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
The film is a more quiet, wintry contemplation and tortured soul-searching.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
As a result, many legends are connected to its violent past, and its dungeon, in particular, is said to be haunted by tortured souls.
—Sophie Friedman, AFAR Media, 22 Oct. 2025
The film is a more quiet, wintry contemplation and tortured soul-searching.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 22 Oct. 2025
Frankenstein's monster is a tortured fellow who's not a big fan of flames.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 14 Oct. 2025
Despite appearances to the contrary—the swirling sentences, the feverish intellection—there is nothing hermetic about Krasznahorkai’s work, both old and new, which squarely faces contemporary European reality and its perils, including the tortured dynamics of settlement, movement, and identity.
—James Wood, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2025
From early on, the tortured family dynamic becomes clear, explaining Nessa’s reasons for turning to Ray for help.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2025
The push to impose regional taxes in the Bay Area has a tortured history.
—Jon Coupal, Oc Register, 27 Sep. 2025
Isaacs plays Timothy, the tortured patriarch of the Ratliff family, on season 3 of The White Lotus.
—Carson Blackwelder, People.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
As of 2025, at least 130 people are known to have been tortured by Burge and his detectives.
—Omar Jimenez, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2025
Another 11 suspected Tren de Aragua members were hit with multiple felony charges in December after a couple living in the now-shuttered Edge of Lowry apartments was kidnapped and tortured.
—John Aguilar, Denver Post, 25 Oct. 2025
Khaled was briefly transferred to Ofer Prison, where Adnan al-Bursh, an orthopedic surgeon who once led Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, had died in 2024, after being tortured.
—Mosab Abu Toha, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
Over five years, the couple allegedly tortured her and embezzled her money, per prosecutors.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
Elsewhere, the details lifted from the book suffer in translation – Branagh’s Victor is appropriately arrogant but not adequately tortured; De Niro’s Monster is sensitive and intuitive, but drowns in the film’s hurried, hollow second half.
—Rory Doherty, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
In Elordi’s hands, the creature is a sensitive soul tortured by his own existence.
—Lindsey Bahr, Boston Herald, 17 Oct. 2025
To the thousands of Syrians who lost loved ones, or were tortured, imprisoned or displaced by the Assad regime, their homeland had become a crime scene from which the top suspects disappeared en masse.
—Danny Makki, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Many who remember the trajectory of the Expos franchise in the 1990s remain tortured by how close the team came to turning things around.
—Jon Paul Hoornstra, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tortured
Verb
-
In Nazi Germany, transgender people were persecuted, barred from public life.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
23 Oct. 2025
-
This Committee was initially created during the McCarthy Era, a dark time when the federal government repressed and persecuted American citizens for their political beliefs.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
These frequent misrepresentations can damage trust not only in the systems themselves but also in news organizations whose content is being distorted.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Some items may become distorted or break down over time if washed with the wrong materials.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
There was a real question how the impact of him being on base nine times and the accompanying leg cramps that plagued him late in extra innings would affect his stamina less than 24 hours later.—
Barry M. Bloom,
Sportico.com,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The park process, by contrast, has been plagued with high costs, lawsuits and scandals including three critical grand jury reports.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In the past few years, the nation’s collective memory—never the strongest—has been relentlessly deformed by right-wing propaganda.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Both of the Yunxian skulls were deformed from millennia spent underground, but the second, known as Yunxian 2, was better preserved.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The Broncos beat up, bruised, harassed and downright punished Herbert from the start.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
22 Sep. 2025
-
Some writers who criticized Taylor Swift reported that they and their family members had been threatened, harassed, and doxed.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Wars and insurrections have afflicted other parts of the Middle East, but Baghdad—a city whose name was once synonymous with suicide bombings and sectarian murder—has been spared.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
28 Oct. 2025
-
The Lakers were down LeBron James, afflicted by nerve pain.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
One oral tradition about Lake Nyos describes how people long ago attempted to cross the dry lake bed between the high, contorted rock formations of the maar’s volcanic rim.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Rogalski contorted his body and got a foot down in bounds to secure the interception at Mahtomedi’s 42 yard line.—
Andrew Cornelius,
Twin Cities,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
His insistence on a raise, while CSX shares fell, frustrated directors this spring.—
Rohan Goswami,
semafor.com,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Over the past several weeks, a handful of frustrated pet owners were able to retrieve the bodies of their pets from Angel Paws with the help of sheriff’s deputies and others.—
Karen Kucher,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tortured.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tortured. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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