1
as in painful
hard to accept or bear especially emotionally
relatives had to make the torturous decision to disconnect the patient's life-support system
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2
as in wrenching
intensely or unbearably painful
the post-infection treatment for rabies was as notoriously torturous as the disease itself
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Recent Examples of torturous
The longtime actor and multi-faceted filmmaker crafts an unhinged, go-for-broke performance as a legendary quarterback putting his potential heir apparent (Tyriq Withers) through a psychologically torturous training camp.
—
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
Season 2 reveals the main characters were locked up in a torturous adult rehabilitation center, but have now been allowed to re-enroll at Godolkin University.
—Skyler Trepel, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
When so many of today’s complaints—the loneliness of young people, the torturous dating market, the loosening of community bonds—come down to interpersonal alienation, the idea of American culture returning to a primal, highly evolved signal of kinship and compatibility is tantalizing.
—Franklin Schneider, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2025
Within the film’s compact running time, writer-director Ben Hania traces the fraught and torturous hours of January 29, 2024, when Palestine Red Crescent volunteers in the West Bank tried to calm a terrified 6-year-old girl and get an ambulance to her in Gaza.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for torturous
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
Season 2 reveals the main characters were locked up in a torturous adult rehabilitation center, but have now been allowed to re-enroll at Godolkin University.
—Skyler Trepel, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
When so many of today’s complaints—the loneliness of young people, the torturous dating market, the loosening of community bonds—come down to interpersonal alienation, the idea of American culture returning to a primal, highly evolved signal of kinship and compatibility is tantalizing.
—Franklin Schneider, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2025
Within the film’s compact running time, writer-director Ben Hania traces the fraught and torturous hours of January 29, 2024, when Palestine Red Crescent volunteers in the West Bank tried to calm a terrified 6-year-old girl and get an ambulance to her in Gaza.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for torturous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for torturous
Adjective
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Ember Leonara, 36, tells Rolling Stone that coming out as transgender this year led to painful rifts in her life.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
11 Nov. 2025
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But the track record is mixed—SoftBank’s backing of WeWork ended in a high-profile collapse, and the premature exit from Nvidia has become a painful reminder of opportunities lost.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
11 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Perhaps the most wrenching scene is one in which Anders, seated alone in a busy café, tunes in to ordinary conversations around him.—
Margaret Talbot,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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There's a lot of harsh words and harsh things that get said about people.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
8 Nov. 2025
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Applying it at the base of the plant before the first frost can protect the roots from harsh cold and keep the soil from freezing.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The Cincinnati Bengals have endured agonizing losses over the past two weeks, both falling late in the fourth quarter due to a defense that has struggled to make key stops.—
Cole Sullivan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
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The agonizing disease disproportionately impacts black and brown people, many of whom don’t live past their 50s and struggle with heart disease, strokes, kidney disease, and joint problems.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
PEOPLE,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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That is unacceptably cruel, corrupt, and undemocratic.—
Brie Stimson,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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Instead, she was stripped of her bronze medal after a late score inquiry—a ruling that still feels cruel for an athlete who had delivered the performance of her life.—
Essence,
Essence,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The voicemail then abruptly turned violent, with McKnight wishing Sheehy an excruciating death.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Nov. 2025
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Longing for my kids to arrive felt excruciating.—
Isobella Jade,
Parents,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Gas and dust fall into a rotating disk around the black hole, and as the debris spirals more rapidly, it becomes superheated, releasing intense radiation.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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True Ipomea batatas has bright orange flesh (although modern varieties have much more intense colors than older forms), occasionally white and rarely purple.—
Paul Cappiello,
Louisville Courier Journal,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Torturous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torturous. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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