as in tormented
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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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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
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Recent Examples of tortured
Christina Grace Tucker, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026
During the show’s wildly popular first season, Robby was treated as a swaggering, tortured heartthrob by the viewers who turned this HBO Max original into an Emmy-winning success.
—Esther Zuckerman, Vanity Fair, 20 Feb. 2026
Fennell cast Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff and Margot Robbie plays Cathy in this tale of childhood friends turned tortured lovers, kept apart by heartbreaking misunderstandings and their own destructive decisions.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026
The show, which was previously called Maud and has rolled cameras in London, is based on the short story collections by Swedish writer Helene Tursten and follows Maud Oldcastle, an old killer with a tortured past.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2026
According to Deadline, Charli will be possessed by a violent, tortured spirit in director Takashi Miike’s upcoming untitled slasher-horror film that is scheduled to start filming in Japan next month; the role was previously reported, but the details about the plot are new.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 10 Feb. 2026
One of the mansion’s signature characters is, aptly, a tortured bride.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Trapped there, Goggins manifests both versions of his character at once, flickering between flashbacks of the steady Cooper and the present-day, tortured Ghoul.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2026
For the first time in their tortured history, the Mariners had a chance to avoid a losing record.
—Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2026
Kevinisha Walker, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2026
One of them was a person whose eight-month-old baby was tortured in front of his eyes.
—Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2026
Crackdowns against the protesters killed hundreds, and hundreds more were arrested amid reports of detainees tortured to death or raped in prison.
—Lee Keath, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2026
According to his official biography, he was tortured in detention at the hands of the SAVAK, the notorious secret police.
—Babak Dehghanpisheh, NBC news, 1 Mar. 2026
Crackdowns against the protesters killed hundreds, and hundreds more were arrested amid reports of detainees tortured to death or raped in prison.
—Dallas Morning News, 28 Feb. 2026
Many others have been injured, arrested, tortured.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 26 Feb. 2026
Under the policy issued last March and reaffirmed last July, immigration officers did not need to give notice or an opportunity for migrants to contest their removal to third countries, so long as the government had received word from that country that deportees would not be persecuted or tortured.
—Jacob Rosen, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
The most emblematic case connected to him is that of General Alberto Bachelet, father of former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, who died after being tortured by the dictatorship.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
Look, credit where credit is due, the man is good at a tortured love confession!
—Christina Grace Tucker, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026
During the show’s wildly popular first season, Robby was treated as a swaggering, tortured heartthrob by the viewers who turned this HBO Max original into an Emmy-winning success.
—Esther Zuckerman, Vanity Fair, 20 Feb. 2026
Fennell cast Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff and Margot Robbie plays Cathy in this tale of childhood friends turned tortured lovers, kept apart by heartbreaking misunderstandings and their own destructive decisions.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026
The show, which was previously called Maud and has rolled cameras in London, is based on the short story collections by Swedish writer Helene Tursten and follows Maud Oldcastle, an old killer with a tortured past.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2026
According to Deadline, Charli will be possessed by a violent, tortured spirit in director Takashi Miike’s upcoming untitled slasher-horror film that is scheduled to start filming in Japan next month; the role was previously reported, but the details about the plot are new.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 10 Feb. 2026
One of the mansion’s signature characters is, aptly, a tortured bride.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Trapped there, Goggins manifests both versions of his character at once, flickering between flashbacks of the steady Cooper and the present-day, tortured Ghoul.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2026
For the first time in their tortured history, the Mariners had a chance to avoid a losing record.
—Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2026
Verb
Experts see positive trends Despite California’s long and tortured history with auto insurance, rates in the state remain below the national average.
—Kevinisha Walker, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2026
One of them was a person whose eight-month-old baby was tortured in front of his eyes.
—Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2026
Crackdowns against the protesters killed hundreds, and hundreds more were arrested amid reports of detainees tortured to death or raped in prison.
—Lee Keath, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2026
According to his official biography, he was tortured in detention at the hands of the SAVAK, the notorious secret police.
—Babak Dehghanpisheh, NBC news, 1 Mar. 2026
Crackdowns against the protesters killed hundreds, and hundreds more were arrested amid reports of detainees tortured to death or raped in prison.
—Dallas Morning News, 28 Feb. 2026
Many others have been injured, arrested, tortured.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 26 Feb. 2026
Under the policy issued last March and reaffirmed last July, immigration officers did not need to give notice or an opportunity for migrants to contest their removal to third countries, so long as the government had received word from that country that deportees would not be persecuted or tortured.
—Jacob Rosen, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
The most emblematic case connected to him is that of General Alberto Bachelet, father of former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, who died after being tortured by the dictatorship.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 18 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tortured
Verb
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The mission said intelligence agencies routinely persecuted political adversaries, falsifying evidence to justify arrests and in some cases resorting to torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Under the policy issued last March and reaffirmed last July, immigration officers did not need to give notice or an opportunity for migrants to contest their removal to third countries, so long as the government had received word from that country that deportees would not be persecuted or tortured.—
Jacob Rosen,
CBS News,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Some analysts noted that the strikes and recent winter storms may have distorted the latest employment data, overstating the weakness last month.—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
6 Mar. 2026
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If your shrubs have distorted, yellowing, or curling leaves or their growth seems stunted, take a close look.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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When teachers became the complaint Several cases described teachers discussing their own political views on the latest Israel-Hamas war in ways that state investigators said foreseeably made Jewish students feel uncomfortable, harassed or targeted.—
Molly Gibbs,
Mercury News,
12 Jan. 2026
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The Broncos beat up, bruised, harassed and downright punished Herbert from the start.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Corrections officers at the facility were projected to earn a base salary of more than $120,000 a year, almost three times the base pay of correctional officers in the state’s prisons, which have been plagued by chronic understaffing.—
Kate Payne,
Sun Sentinel,
2 Mar. 2026
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Although crime is down in Nashville, the Downtown Detention Center has been plagued by overcrowding.—
James Verini,
New Yorker,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The mountains themselves are too deformed to hold hydrocarbons.—
Stephanie Pappas,
Scientific American,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Hadi tells an engaging story, brings complex and surprising characters to life, lends a locale an aesthetic iconography, and renders personal identity inextricable from the forces of history that shaped or deformed it.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Some employees on Tuesday also felt frustrated that some observers are portraying Anthropic as heroic despite previous years of work with the Pentagon and major defense contractor Palantir with little scrutiny.—
Hadas Gold,
CNN Money,
4 Mar. 2026
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The switch surprised and frustrated residents who stopped to vote during their work dayor between errands only to be redirected elsewhere — an outcome predicted by county officials and voting rights activists who feared the GOP’s arrangement would disenfranchise voters.—
Tracey McManus,
Dallas Morning News,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The regular crowd shots of the waiting room too often reduce the afflicted into a zombie-like horde bent on making life more difficult for our beloved medical staff.—
Culture Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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Instead, each statement is afflicted by a delinquent modifier.—
Richard Lederer,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Cross-country skiing is known for its attrition, an event that leaves its competitors foam-mouthed and slack-jawed; athletes of iron reduced to trembling and contorted shapes on the floor.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2026
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For the entire 15-minute show, they’ve been contorted into pieces of furniture Lawson fabricated, pieces befitting something between an asylum and BDSM dungeon, and reminiscent of Allen Jones’s 1960s Pop sculpture series, which depicts fiberglass women in fetishware as home objects.—
Anna Peele,
Vanity Fair,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tortured.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tortured. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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