1
as in nightmares
a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness
it's torture for me to see you so unhappy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tortures
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
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
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
Noun
-
And that’s the stuff that should really give us nightmares.
-
The bench eventually became long and gifted with Te-Hina Paopao, Madina Okot and others, and then the Dream caused nightmares for their opponents with one of the grandest deals ever during WNBA free agency.
Noun
-
The 74-year-old Weinstein, meanwhile, reported chest pains during jury deliberations in the most recent trial, spurring another early end to court.
-
The colors, pains, pleasures, smells, tastes and sounds, the what-it’s-like of being conscious, are not private inner bits and blobs that philosophers call qualia, floating in a theatre of the mind.
Verb
-
No, what plagues the Padres is so much deeper.
-
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.
Verb
-
Progressives across the country have spent years arguing that unlimited outside spending distorts democracy, empowers wealthy interests, and undermines trust in government.
-
This lyrical collection from B Batchelor—a 2025 Haymarket Writing Freedom Fellow, and a recipient of multiple awards from PEN America—explores the way incarceration distorts time.
Noun
-
During discussions about elementary and middle school social studies curriculum, board members made addendums, including education about the horrors of communism, why the Second Amendment was created and how counterculture increased the rate of divorce.
-
The diamond gave her space to run toward something when the horrors of her past threatened to engulf her.
Noun
-
The reticence of Cartland’s heroes belies agonies of loneliness.
-
Although the novel’s center does not quite hold, O’Farrell’s emotional intelligence — the heart and heat of her characters — braces this sometimes unwieldy chronicle of a nation that has been subject to cumbrous historic 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.
-
In Russia, the civilian repressive apparatus persecutes the military, which leaps at every chance for revenge.
Verb
-
Monk’s music contorts into an ecstatic dance, one more befitting of a ritual trance state than a night at the Five Spot.
-
Bridges contorts his body, and jacks up an errant layup, but the play isn’t done there.
Cite this Entry
“Tortures.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tortures. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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