TORTURED Synonyms: 179 Similar and Opposite Words

tortured 1 of 2

adjective

as in tormented

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tortured

2 of 2

verb

past tense of torture

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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

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

Adjective

Our tortured contemporary education is a logical outgrowth of its origin story. — Kamau Bobb october 21, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026 Earlier works tinging with an obscure kind of darkness that hinted at tortured psychological states have all but disappeared from her work and living quarters in lieu of an elegant old world charm. — Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 29 Sep. 2026 But this leads to secrets revealed, lies told and tortured confrontations, not just with others but most intensely with himself. — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2026 Wuthering Heights In Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte presents a world of conflicts, frictions between families, passions, and attachments—especially those of Catherine Earnshaw and the tortured Heathcliff—across an untamed landscape. — Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2026 Eve resists scream-queen clichés, but Gemma’s boringly typical tortured backstory is as flat as her wan chemistry with Nick. — Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026 In Kris’ case, that obsession was with Camp Miasma, its tortured villain Little Death, and the oversexualized victims who ended up on the other end of Little Death’s spear, terrible sequel after terrible sequel. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2026 The committee is tasked with analyzing and reviewing problematic conference papers and enhancing quality screening of articles prior to publication to detect integrity issues such as plagiarism and tortured phrases. — IEEE Spectrum, 30 July 2026 Bernstine brings just enough light to her tortured cop, while McNairy brings just enough anguish to his good-hearted caretaker. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 27 July 2026

Verb

Imprisoned during the persecution of Christians by the Roman emperor Diocletian, they were tortured and beheaded. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026 From the very start, the students assigned as guards went on cruel power trips and repeatedly humiliated — if not psychologically tortured — the inmates, to the point that some of the prisoners suffered nervous breakdowns. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 29 Oct. 2026 Shorter than his peers (with Diana the tallest), Absolute Superman is more reserved and less confident than them — but just as tortured. — Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2026 The back half of the track, downcast and tortured, evokes the operatic desolation of Waiting-era Thursday. — Nick Laskin, Pitchfork, 26 Oct. 2026 The final bit, where Homer allows himself to be tortured so his son can graduate at the top of his class, is sweet, though. — Joshua Kurp, Vulture, 26 Oct. 2026 Hubbard, 74, was imprisoned on what the State Department called false charges of fighting for Ukraine; fellow prisoners said he was tortured for being American. — The Week Us, TheWeek, 26 Oct. 2026 His underlings kidnapped and tortured a dealer who refused to pay, the indictment said. — Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026 The organization advocating on his behalf said Gilman had been tortured in Russian detention. — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tortured

Adjective

Others were placed under house arrest, harassed or subject to extensive surveillance, or had their passports confiscated, according to prior NPR reporting and the findings of the United Nations and rights groups.

— Emily Feng, NPR, 17 May 2026
For years, Christian clergy who live and work in Jerusalem have reported being frequently spat on, harassed and even physically attacked by Israeli extremists.

— Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 1 May 2026

Definition of harassed

Verb

The company named all its weapons after Ukrainian intellectuals and artists killed or persecuted by Russians in the last century.

— Joanna Kakissis, NPR, 29 Oct. 2026
During this same time his father had vanished behind the Bamboo Curtain and was almost certainly persecuted, possibly even murdered, by the same Communists that Hoover claimed to be fighting.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of persecuted

Verb

Americans may disagree on solutions, but many share the belief that financial incentives have distorted the system beyond recognition.

— Scott Levenson, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026
Working from a plus-size model’s body as her starting point for pattern-making, silhouettes were subsequently distorted, creating a second layer that appeared to slip and warp around the body.

— Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of distorted

Adjective

Scholten told Semafor that experience positions Turek to convert frustrated Republicans.

— Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Some parents became so frustrated with the district’s position that the school board vote devolved into shouting from the audience as board members tried to speak over the crowd, video from the meeting showed.

— Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of frustrated

Verb

But he was plagued by guilt over his ancestor’s role in the trials, and felt compelled to explore themes of human character, greed, and social decay through his work.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2026
Joan realizes that her mother’s vanishing meshes with a larger tapestry of tragedy that has plagued their family over the years.

— Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of plagued

Verb

On a map, Newfoundland is a vast, asymmetrical island, cloven by bays and inlets, semi-detached to appendages of land deformed by ancient glaciers scraping over it, leaving glacial striations, grooves and gouges on its granite face.

— Paul Theroux, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026
In other words, two objects are considered topologically identical if they can be deformed into one another without tearing holes in them or gluing them together at any point.

— Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of deformed

Adjective

Each application is pre-tested and integrated into the platform to reduce deployment time and improve reliability for end users.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 31 July 2026
But summer back in New York, amid the fug of the city, requires a return to a tested and true formula.

— Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 22 June 2025

Definition of tested

Verb

Calle 13 became famous not just for its edgy rap and urban music, but also for loudly calling out the economic and social inequalities that afflicted Puerto Rico.

— Helena Alonso Paisley, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2026
His central claim is that mental health culture has created a situation where over time, the people who are least afflicted get the most attention.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of afflicted

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“Tortured.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tortured. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of tortured

adjective

verb

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