as in wrenching
intensely or unbearably painful
watched the final torturing moments of the game as the lead constantly shifted between the two teams
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in deformation
the twisting of something out of a natural or normal shape or condition
fans of the natural look frown on the torturing of garden trees and shrubs into fantastic shapes
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in persecuting
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 distorting
to twist (something) out of a natural or normal shape or condition
tortured her naturally straight hair into curls
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of torturing
Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025
Dahbia Benkired was convicted of raping, torturing and killing Lola Daviet, according the BBC, BFMTV and The New York Times.
—Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
In another film with a less happy outcome, the woman who claims to be the amnesiac’s wife is an impostor who ends up torturing him.
—Literary Hub, 24 Oct. 2025
Additionally, before season one aired, Page Six reported Zakkour was allegedly at the scene of the arrest of crypto investor John Woeltz, who has been charged with kidnapping and torturing a man alongside William Duplessie, per AP News.
—Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025
Murphy also revealed there would be a focus on the Hungarian noblewoman Elizabeth Báthory, who, along with her servants, was accused of torturing and killing hundreds of young women in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2025
More than 3,000 Hamas fighters gunned down civilians, torturing and mutilating some of them in their own homes, still in their pajamas.
—Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
The trailer presents the Jimmies as a downright terrifying clan, showing them violating and torturing other survivors.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Sep. 2025
Consequently, the unit’s members film themselves torturing and executing Palestinians.
—Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
Hundreds — some with and some without criminal records — have vanished without due process indefinitely into the prison systems of other countries infamous for torturing inmates.
—Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025
Dahbia Benkired was convicted of raping, torturing and killing Lola Daviet, according the BBC, BFMTV and The New York Times.
—Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
In another film with a less happy outcome, the woman who claims to be the amnesiac’s wife is an impostor who ends up torturing him.
—Literary Hub, 24 Oct. 2025
Additionally, before season one aired, Page Six reported Zakkour was allegedly at the scene of the arrest of crypto investor John Woeltz, who has been charged with kidnapping and torturing a man alongside William Duplessie, per AP News.
—Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025
Murphy also revealed there would be a focus on the Hungarian noblewoman Elizabeth Báthory, who, along with her servants, was accused of torturing and killing hundreds of young women in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2025
More than 3,000 Hamas fighters gunned down civilians, torturing and mutilating some of them in their own homes, still in their pajamas.
—Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
The trailer presents the Jimmies as a downright terrifying clan, showing them violating and torturing other survivors.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Sep. 2025
Consequently, the unit’s members film themselves torturing and executing Palestinians.
—Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for torturing
Adjective
-
Warfare Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare is an admirable attempt to counter the truism that there’s no such thing as an anti-war movie — that all war movies, however gruesome or wrenching, effectively (and often unwittingly) wind up glamorizing combat to some degree.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
-
One particularly wrenching moment in the film made an impression on her stepfather, Kurt Russell.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
21 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The result is a material that is both lightweight and extraordinarily resistant to deformation, capable of dispersing immense kinetic energy.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Dec. 2025
-
Though cranial deformations were not unheard of in Mesoamerica, researchers stressed that this type is less common than other types in the region — and unusually combines both tabular erect and tabular superior styles.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
29 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Trump has repeatedly alleged that the South African government is actively persecuting white citizens, particularly farmers.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
-
The former human-rights lawyer entered on a tourist visa and filed for political asylum in October of that year, claiming the governments that succeeded Correa were persecuting him.—
Syra Ortiz Blanes,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Today, tariffs are distorting international trade, conflict is raging with Russia’s war on Ukraine, there have been flare-ups between Israel and Iran and the US is seizing oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
25 Dec. 2025
-
Economists cautioned that recent data should be interpreted carefully, as a 43-day federal government shutdown disrupted the collection of household data, potentially distorting figures on employment.—
Benzinga,
Freep.com,
20 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
September 22 Lucas Museum opens After a long, semi-torturous process, George Lucas’s grand vision for a public museum containing an impressive collection of paintings, drawings, and film memorabilia will finally come to fruition.—
Hillary Busis,
Vanity Fair,
22 Dec. 2025
-
During this increasingly torturous adjustment period, Millie learns Nina spent some time in a psychiatric facility years earlier after allegedly leaving Cece to drown in a bathtub and taking enough pills to kill herself.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
19 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
That's when the voice distortion comes into play — but due to a history of viewers trying to cheat the system, The Masked Singer team does even more to deceive the audience.—
Skyler Caruso,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
-
However, practical deployment has been prevented by sensitivity to ambient light, waveform distortion in LEDs, according to a press release.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Both cases are apt to serve as models for how to prevent the kind of school shootings still plaguing the nation and could set legal precedent for who shoulders the blame when children have access to guns and open fire on campus.—
Cindy Von Quednow,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
-
The Live With Kelly and Mark talk show hostess seemingly hasn't known peace on the scariest day of the year for quite some time, but not because of ghosts and ghoulies plaguing her — but, rather, ungrateful neighbors who consistently complain about her Halloween candy.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Cattano suggests screwing mug hooks into the bottom of kitchen cabinets to utilize that space between the cupboards and the countertops.—
Bridget Reed Morawski,
Architectural Digest,
7 Jan. 2026
-
That’s because the president doesn’t care about screwing people.—
Alexander Bolton,
The Hill,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Torturing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torturing. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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