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
Eva Remijan-Toba, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
Fitting in Marner left a team and town with a tortured history for one that knew only success without him.
—Jonas Siegel, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
Harge Aird in Carol (2015) God forbid two closeted lesbians have a little fun (okay, emotionally tortured and clandestine fun, but still) without some man coming along to ruin it!
—Emma Specter, Vogue, 25 Dec. 2025
Travis Kelce is a poet — but certainly not a tortured one.
—Denise Warner, Billboard, 23 Dec. 2025
Survivor’s tribal councils of late have been awfully fond of Probst and the players indulging in tortured metaphors about the game, so Coach at least appears ready to engage with the current Survivor Zeitgeist.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
But there is psychology to be explored there beneath all that journeyman genius, and Greiving knows how to get at it, even if his subject is in most ways the opposite of a tortured or oft-thwarted soul like a Bernard Herrmann.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 16 Dec. 2025
As such, the moon will appear particularly spectacular through the eyepiece of a backyard telescope with an aperture of around 6-inches, which will reveal stunning detail in the tortured surface of Earth's ancient companion.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 29 Nov. 2025
The film is a more quiet, wintry contemplation and tortured soul-searching.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
Keith McNally, Vanity Fair, 20 Jan. 2026
Compared with the eight million Venezuelans who had fled the country, the nearly twenty thousand who had been detained for political reasons, the thousands who had been extrajudicially executed, and the hundreds who had been tortured, the deaths of a few dozen people seemed of little significance.
—Oriana Van Praag, New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2026
Concha said he was abducted and tortured by cartel members in 2014 after he was deported to Mexico.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2026
In the past, individuals have been tortured or coerced into admitting there was a foreign plot behind demonstrations in the Islamic Republic.
—Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 14 Jan. 2026
Many of the men had been beaten, while women were raped and children were tortured.
—Simon Hughes, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
The Golden Globes have a history as convoluted and tortured as the ceremony is glitzy and wasted.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
Any show where characters are regularly shot, kidnapped, and/or tortured needs a touch of comedy, and that’s where German bounty hunter Randy comes in.
—Tanya Melendez, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Jan. 2026
The dictator who imprisoned and tortured Venezuelan politicians, activists, and ordinary people was snatched from his bed and put on an American plane with his wife, Cilia Flores.
—Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
Over the years, Tatarsky has expanded the performance into a series of existential vignettes, introducing additional tortured artists who each confront the anxieties and absurdities of life in ways that feel both deeply personal and universally relatable.
—Eva Remijan-Toba, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
Fitting in Marner left a team and town with a tortured history for one that knew only success without him.
—Jonas Siegel, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
Harge Aird in Carol (2015) God forbid two closeted lesbians have a little fun (okay, emotionally tortured and clandestine fun, but still) without some man coming along to ruin it!
—Emma Specter, Vogue, 25 Dec. 2025
Travis Kelce is a poet — but certainly not a tortured one.
—Denise Warner, Billboard, 23 Dec. 2025
Survivor’s tribal councils of late have been awfully fond of Probst and the players indulging in tortured metaphors about the game, so Coach at least appears ready to engage with the current Survivor Zeitgeist.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
But there is psychology to be explored there beneath all that journeyman genius, and Greiving knows how to get at it, even if his subject is in most ways the opposite of a tortured or oft-thwarted soul like a Bernard Herrmann.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 16 Dec. 2025
As such, the moon will appear particularly spectacular through the eyepiece of a backyard telescope with an aperture of around 6-inches, which will reveal stunning detail in the tortured surface of Earth's ancient companion.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 29 Nov. 2025
The film is a more quiet, wintry contemplation and tortured soul-searching.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
When being tortured, name names.
—Keith McNally, Vanity Fair, 20 Jan. 2026
Compared with the eight million Venezuelans who had fled the country, the nearly twenty thousand who had been detained for political reasons, the thousands who had been extrajudicially executed, and the hundreds who had been tortured, the deaths of a few dozen people seemed of little significance.
—Oriana Van Praag, New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2026
Concha said he was abducted and tortured by cartel members in 2014 after he was deported to Mexico.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2026
In the past, individuals have been tortured or coerced into admitting there was a foreign plot behind demonstrations in the Islamic Republic.
—Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 14 Jan. 2026
Many of the men had been beaten, while women were raped and children were tortured.
—Simon Hughes, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
The Golden Globes have a history as convoluted and tortured as the ceremony is glitzy and wasted.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
Any show where characters are regularly shot, kidnapped, and/or tortured needs a touch of comedy, and that’s where German bounty hunter Randy comes in.
—Tanya Melendez, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Jan. 2026
The dictator who imprisoned and tortured Venezuelan politicians, activists, and ordinary people was snatched from his bed and put on an American plane with his wife, Cilia Flores.
—Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 5 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tortured
Verb
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Because of these and other views, she was persecuted and imprisoned several times for blasphemy in England.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
20 Jan. 2026
-
People are persecuted, people come here because of the stuff that America is doing to other countries.—
Lisa Deaderick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Here’s everything to know about her mental health history and the religious influence that allegedly distorted her beliefs.—
KC Baker,
PEOPLE,
11 Jan. 2026
-
However, the government shutdown, which halted data collection, may have distorted the results.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The Broncos beat up, bruised, harassed and downright punished Herbert from the start.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
22 Sep. 2025
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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
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But the hospital has been plagued by security issues in the last few years, and a contract dispute with the nurses’ union.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Commentary and opinions Tim Walz isn’t the only governor plagued by fraud.—
James Rainey,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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American bases built inside the ice sheet, such as Camp Century, were quickly crushed as the encasing snow deformed.—
Paul Bierman,
Washington Post,
7 Jan. 2026
-
One of those difficulties was figuring out how to square the minimal and highly refined designs of Mies and Johnson with the raw and sometimes deformed materials salvaged from RedBird.—
Tribune News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Tears shed by frustrated children, burned out and exhausted.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Much of the address focused on the rising cost of living here and Healey's recent efforts to position herself as a champion of pocketbook relief at a time when voters across the country remain frustrated by high prices and economic uncertainty.—
Sam Drysdale,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Given the housing shortage that’s afflicted the whole country, the state, in 2024, revised the Postcard Law to allow for more construction, at least in certain areas.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
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Eddie Vedder and his wife Jill founded the EB Research Partnership (EBRP) in 2010, a nonprofit dedicated to funding research to treat and cure the life-threatening disease, one that afflicted the child of Jill’s childhood friend.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Their necks contorted slightly and smiles spread across their faces as the high-definition videos started and their journeys commenced.—
Haven Daley,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Mikomi sees images generated by Grok of her wearing specific fetish outfits, or her body contorted or placed in strange contexts.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tortured.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tortured. Accessed 24 Jan. 2026.
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