as in tormenter
a person who causes repeated emotional pain, distress, or annoyance to another
a sadistic torturer of men he regarded as weak, the drillmaster really had it in for one recruit
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Recent Examples of torturer
For decades, generals, coup-plotters, and torturers walked free under the shield of amnesty laws passed after the country’s 21-year dictatorship.
—
Julia Vargas Jones, CNN Money, 12 Sep. 2025
Is the man actually his torturer?
—Zach Dennis, Charlotte Observer, 9 Sep. 2025
Each regime, from the Pahlavi dynasty to the Islamic Republic, claimed to uphold human rights and castigated its predecessors as torturers, only to ratchet up the incarceration of political opponents.
—Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
Julia Vargas Jones, CNN Money, 12 Sep. 2025
Is the man actually his torturer?
—Zach Dennis, Charlotte Observer, 9 Sep. 2025
Each regime, from the Pahlavi dynasty to the Islamic Republic, claimed to uphold human rights and castigated its predecessors as torturers, only to ratchet up the incarceration of political opponents.
—Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for torturer
Noun
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Fans also got a glimpse of the creative shift with a tease of a feud between the Wyatt Sicks and the MFT factions.—
Fernando Quiles Jr,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
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The most nahstay tease since Prince stripped to his Dirty Mind bikini.—
Touré,
Rolling Stone,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The mind could wander briefly about the Giants riding a two-game winning streak into a Thursday Night Football matchup with the Eagles, equipped to knock off their tormentors who suddenly look vulnerable.—
Dan Duggan,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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On the Met’s stage, the writer — called, say, Jamal Khashoggi — would be sung by a heroic tenor, his tormentor by a demonic baritone.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The documentary tells the true story of a teenage couple relentlessly bullied via text by an anonymous harasser.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The grounds once housed the elaborate palace of first century Roman Emperor Domitian, a persecutor of Christians.—
Angie Leventis Lourgos,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
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That is a nasty process which involves digging up Ambar’s still-fresh corpse, then subjecting it to various grisly indignities night after night as retribution gets visited upon our heroine’s persecutors.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Those differences can mean the difference between a private, secure connection and one that's more vulnerable to attackers.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
12 Oct. 2025
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There were still five behind the ball, but one of them, Morris, was not tight enough to Ecuadorian attacker John Yeboah, and was too slow in trying to jump the pass.—
Paul Tenorio,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Torturer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torturer. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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