tortures 1 of 2

noun

plural of torture
1
as in nightmares
a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness it's torture for me to see you so unhappy

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2
as in pains
a state of great suffering of body or mind spent an afternoon in torture waiting to hear whether her brother had made it home safely

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tortures

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of torture
1
as in plagues
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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2
as in distorts
to twist (something) out of a natural or normal shape or condition tortured her naturally straight hair into curls

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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 tortures
Noun
Tykes get slapped around, shot with arrows and dangled in traffic — tortures that are played seriously, but the shock of them allows you to guffaw. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026 But such judgments often come from a place of distance—from people who have never lived under a theocracy that imprisons, tortures, and kills with impunity. — Nazanin Boniadi, Time, 11 Mar. 2026 In that final part of the cycle—the writing part—were torments, perhaps even tortures, but good things happened. — Jake Lundberg, The Atlantic, 19 Feb. 2026 Former Jews deemed insufficiently converted faced the Spanish Inquisition’s tortures. — David Bloom, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Verb
The retrospection tortures her. — Alexandra Rockey Fleming, PEOPLE, 14 Jan. 2026 Later, in one of the movie's most satisfying scenes, Millie locks Andrew in the attic and tortures him by loudly smashing each plate. — Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Dec. 2025 The mistake tortures them, which prompts the couple to try and solve the mystery by producing a fake play in an attempt to get their ex-neighbor Mary (Chloe Cherry) to audition. — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 3 Oct. 2025 The 1990 Kathy Bates-James Caan starrer remains one of Hollywood’s finest horror pieces, with Bates winning an Oscar for her role as the obsessive fan Annie Wilkes, who tortures author Paul Sheldon (Caan) while holding him hostage in her remote cabin. — Deborah Wilker, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tortures
  1. nightmares
  2. pains
  3. plagues
  4. distorts
  5. horrors
  6. agonies
  7. persecutes
  8. contorts
Noun
  • Now imagine all their parents having nightmares that this was their university experience.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 1 July 2026
  • Set amid the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, the tragic tale of Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) is famous for allowing real nightmares to masquerade as bloody fairytales.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 30 June 2026
Definition of nightmares
Noun
  • Blanche said department lawyers took pains to protect the women involved, and quickly fixed any errors that were found.
    — Alanna Durkin Richer, Fortune, 16 July 2026
  • Those include aches and pains, fever, cough, shortness of breath.
    — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 15 July 2026
Definition of pains
Verb
  • More bureaucracy — in the form of the new stand-alone Department of Gun Violence Reduction — while well-intentioned, isn’t the panacea to what plagues our city, especially as whoever is appointed head of this new department will enjoy too much independence from the mayor.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2026
  • Odd moment plagues fourth quarter As the Knicks held on to their fairly sizable lead, a fan ran onto the court, tried to take a selfie with Wembanyama but was quickly apprehended by security.
    — Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 4 June 2026
Definition of plagues
Verb
  • So this distorts things – the sub numbers don’t really tell the story.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 14 July 2026
  • Nigeria rejected the International Monetary Fund’s finding that the country has engaged in extra-budgetary public spending that distorts its deficit levels, blaming poor interpretation of its financial reporting method for the misunderstanding.
    — Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of distorts
Noun
  • Here’s a guy who wrote a whole book about the horrors of wokeness.
    — Gilad Edelman, The Atlantic, 19 July 2026
  • The horrors of what Henry has left behind — and could easily be returned to — are hardly skipped over.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 18 July 2026
Definition of horrors
Noun
  • Sadly, in discouraging all the phantom agonies, FIFA inadvertently seems to have done away with the equally farcical phenomenon that is Magic Spray®.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 17 July 2026
  • The reticence of Cartland’s heroes belies agonies of loneliness.
    — Simon Perry, PEOPLE, 18 June 2026
Definition of agonies
Verb
  • China, which jails human rights activists in Hong Kong, persecutes Uyghurs, has killed hundreds of thousands of Tibetans and has committed genocide against the Falun Gong, is on the UN Human Rights Council.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
  • In Russia, the civilian repressive apparatus persecutes the military, which leaps at every chance for revenge.
    — Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Definition of persecutes
Verb
  • Monk’s music contorts into an ecstatic dance, one more befitting of a ritual trance state than a night at the Five Spot.
    — Levi Dayan, Pitchfork, 11 May 2026
  • Bridges contorts his body, and jacks up an errant layup, but the play isn’t done there.
    — Fred Katz, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
Definition of contorts

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Cite this Entry

“Tortures.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tortures. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of tortures for Spanish Speakers

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