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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in distorted
to twist (something) out of a natural or normal shape or condition
tortured her naturally straight hair into curls
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in tormented
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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 tortured
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
Panday plays a convincingly gruff tortured artist alongside Padda’s struggling ingenue, and most of the screen time is devoted to their pairing instead of introducing tertiary excess.
—Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 13 Sep. 2025
But there’s also something quite tortured about Douglas Kelly.
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2025
Swift making herself into a tortured poet trying to outdo a pretentious, typewriter-wielding ex.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2025
Co-starring Andrew Scott as Rodgers and Margaret Qualley as a semi-fictionalized admirer of the closeted Hart, Blue Moon promises to be a wrenching look at a complex and tortured songwriter, with stunning performances to boot.
—Samantha Allen, Them., 2 Sep. 2025
From the Enterprise, everyone watches as the Jikaru finds a peaceful end to her tortured existence.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2025
Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
Hoping to better understand the demand for smutty scares, Hitchcock and his wife, Alma Reville (Olivia Williams), spend an interminable evening at the theater surrounded by people throwing popcorn and making out while the topless woman onscreen is tortured and killed in a masked man’s dungeon.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 4 Oct. 2025
Unsurprisingly, The Life of a Showgirl is a stark departure from last year’s deeply personal, prosaic, and tortured-as-hell The Tortured Poets Department.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2025
Though no reporter has been killed there since 2016, journalist Víctor Barahona was detained and tortured from June 2022 to May 2023.
—Liam Reilly, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2025
Pike brutally beat, cut and tortured Colleen Slemmer, a fellow student at the Knoxville Job Corps, along with two others in 1995.
—Evan Mealins, Nashville Tennessean, 3 Oct. 2025
Freites said she was tortured and raped in Colombia and her father and 8-month-old baby killed.
—Gisela Salomon, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025
Ruis was placed in a cell with Yates and ultimately tortured and killed him.
—Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025
Prosecutors said Grimes was beaten to death and tortured, suffering from multiple lacerations to her head, two black eyes, and a broken arm, ribs and nose.
—Christine Pelisek, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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
Panday plays a convincingly gruff tortured artist alongside Padda’s struggling ingenue, and most of the screen time is devoted to their pairing instead of introducing tertiary excess.
—Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 13 Sep. 2025
But there’s also something quite tortured about Douglas Kelly.
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2025
Swift making herself into a tortured poet trying to outdo a pretentious, typewriter-wielding ex.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2025
Co-starring Andrew Scott as Rodgers and Margaret Qualley as a semi-fictionalized admirer of the closeted Hart, Blue Moon promises to be a wrenching look at a complex and tortured songwriter, with stunning performances to boot.
—Samantha Allen, Them., 2 Sep. 2025
From the Enterprise, everyone watches as the Jikaru finds a peaceful end to her tortured existence.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
This is the cost of having been tortured in public.
—Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
Hoping to better understand the demand for smutty scares, Hitchcock and his wife, Alma Reville (Olivia Williams), spend an interminable evening at the theater surrounded by people throwing popcorn and making out while the topless woman onscreen is tortured and killed in a masked man’s dungeon.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 4 Oct. 2025
Unsurprisingly, The Life of a Showgirl is a stark departure from last year’s deeply personal, prosaic, and tortured-as-hell The Tortured Poets Department.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2025
Though no reporter has been killed there since 2016, journalist Víctor Barahona was detained and tortured from June 2022 to May 2023.
—Liam Reilly, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2025
Pike brutally beat, cut and tortured Colleen Slemmer, a fellow student at the Knoxville Job Corps, along with two others in 1995.
—Evan Mealins, Nashville Tennessean, 3 Oct. 2025
Freites said she was tortured and raped in Colombia and her father and 8-month-old baby killed.
—Gisela Salomon, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025
Ruis was placed in a cell with Yates and ultimately tortured and killed him.
—Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025
Prosecutors said Grimes was beaten to death and tortured, suffering from multiple lacerations to her head, two black eyes, and a broken arm, ribs and nose.
—Christine Pelisek, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tortured
Verb
-
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
-
Leatherface attacks, but the real villains turn out to be the townsfolk who persecuted the Sawyers after the original massacre.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
21 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
If your shrubs have distorted, yellowing, or curling leaves or their growth seems stunted, take a close look.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Instead, his big reveal on Monday offered families distorted science, false hope, and unproven and at times dangerous medical advice.—
Lisa Jarvis,
Mercury News,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The production was plagued by hurricanes, tsunami warnings, stinging jellyfish and several injuries — including Costner, who almost died while riding out a storm stranded atop a mast after his safety line had snapped.—
Peter Kiefer,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Abdilahi made the case for recognition, describing Somaliland’s people as distinct from the rest of Somalia, which has been plagued by instability for decades.—
Mohammed Sergie,
semafor.com,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
Some of her concerns exist because the pipeline sits in the open water of the Great Lakes and has been damaged multiple times by ship’s anchors, is subject to corrosion, and has been found to be bent and deformed by the extremely powerful currents in the Straits of Mackinac.—
Mike Shriberg,
The Conversation,
22 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
-
As a result, Ecuador has avoided the extraordinary inflation that has afflicted so many nations in South America, including Argentina.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
8 Oct. 2025
-
However, Romo was seemingly afflicted with a malady that Prescott cannot inoculate himself against.—
Robert Marvi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Even an otherwise neutral comment can be contorted into a sarcastic retort, an insult or a counterattack.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Yet part of the force of it is that Michôd has not contorted Christy Martin’s life into some false arc; what was going on beneath her triumph is portrayed with a desperate and idiosyncratic honesty.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The uprisings moved through the region as the Arab Spring ignited, and tens of millions of frustrated residents went online to coordinate.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Brown has appeared frustrated with his limited role in the offense.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tortured.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tortured. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share