torturous

adjective

ˈtȯrch-rəs How to pronounce torturous (audio)
Definition of torturousnext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in wrenching
intensely or unbearably painful the post-infection treatment for rabies was as notoriously torturous as the disease itself

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 torturous In a wartorn country where air travel is too perilous to even consider, the roads are the obvious option, but are jammed, precarious, and cursed with long, torturous border queues. — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026 Legal experts say those costs reflect the challenges that corrections officials face in finding help with carrying out lethal injections, which can subject prisoners to torturous levels of pain. — Max Blau, ProPublica, 8 Sep. 2026 But, for the figures on the other end of the camera, the violation is often described as torturous. — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2026 San Francisco has found many odd, obscure and torturous ways to lose this season. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 26 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for torturous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for torturous
  1. painful
  2. wrenching
  3. harsh
  4. agonizing
  5. cruel
  6. excruciating
  7. intense
Adjective
  • The heartwarming film takes us on a ride through archive and new footage and rehearsals and re-enactments of Happy Gays that bring up happy but also painful memories, along with a different side of the at times curmudgeonly Jolanda.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 5 Nov. 2026
  • For the third time in two seasons, Sam is forced to sever a relationship, and this one may be the most painful, the most cruel, because in killing Jerry, Sam is destroying potential.
    — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of painful
Adjective
  • Richard Ables guided families through one of life’s most wrenching rituals at the historic Hall Brothers Funeral Home.
    — Paul Schwartzman, Washington Post, 4 Oct. 2026
  • After a quiet episode focused on Hal Jordan’s passing, Lanterns’s penultimate chapter deepens the mystery in surprising and wrenching ways.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of wrenching
Adjective
  • Martha Stewart is asking Americans for forgiveness after her Halloween costume drew harsh criticism.
    — Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Held without charge, al-Sakani says he was subjected to harsh conditions, including sleep deprivation, inadequate medical care and the withholding of medication.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of harsh
Adjective
  • And while digital boards are fun to look at and can hook new audiences, an unexpected pause for buffering displays can be agonizing as the counts keep coming in.
    — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Now Reina faces the agonizing choice of betraying her mentor or turning her back on thousands of working-class families who stand to lose everything.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of agonizing
Adjective
  • Newsom and other opponents of capital punishment have long argued that the process is costly, cruel and discriminatory, with death sentences disproportionately handed down to defendants of color.
    — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
  • In a cruel twist of fate, the back half of the trailer shows Geoff being affected by severe confusion, sitting outside his house in the cold.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of cruel
Adjective
  • In an excruciating scene, Carrère, emboldened by more than a few rounds of vodka, decides to begin speaking Russian to his companions, who have made a point of speaking only Ukrainian.
    — Madeleine Wulfahrt, New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Some patients need oxygen for shortness of breath, while others require narcotics for excruciating pain.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of excruciating
Adjective
  • But places like South Florida have seen more intense storms more frequently than before.
    — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 11 Nov. 2026
  • In May 2023, the G-7 began intense discussions on AI governance that would eventually produce a code of conduct for developers.
    — DANIEL REMLER, Foreign Affairs, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of intense

Browse Nearby Words

torturing
torturous
Tory
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Cite this Entry

“Torturous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torturous. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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