noun · verb · 12 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈtɔːt͡ʃə/
Received-Pronunciation:[ˈthɔːt͡ʃə]
General-American:/ˈtɔɹt͡ʃɚ/
General-American:[ˈthɔɹt͡ʃɚ] ~ [ˈthɔɹt͡ʃɹ̩]
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)tʃə(ɹ)
homophone: torcher
CMU ARPABET:T AO1 R CH ER0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The infliction of severe pain or anguish, especially as an interrogation technique or punishment; (usually in the plural) a technique, method, or device which is designed to inflict such anguish.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
People confess to anything under torture.
Using large dogs to attack bound, hand-cuffed prisoners is clearly torture.
What new tortures await me?
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: enhanced interrogation techniques
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The infliction of severe pain or anguish, especially as an interrogation technique or punishment; (usually in the plural) a technique, method, or device which is designed to inflict such anguish.
Sexual activity involving the infliction of pain to a certain body part or in a certain manner.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, in-compounds, uncountable
Topics: BDSM, lifestyle, sexuality
Examples
cock and ball torture
tickle torture
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: enhanced interrogation techniques
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Severe pain or anguish, of mind or body.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
An unpleasant sensation or its infliction: embarrassment, heartache, etc.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
Every time she says 'goodbye' it is torture!
Coventry City midfielder Josh Ruffels described his 11 months out injured as 'absolute torture' after the goalless draw with Derby County Under-21s. (http://www.ccfc.co.uk/news/article/eleven-months-of-absolute-torture-760652.aspx)
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
verb
Meaning 5
To intentionally inflict severe pain or suffering on (someone), usually with the aim of forcing confessions or punishing them.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
1 August 2014, Barack Obama, "Press Conference by the President"; transcript published online by the Obama White House Archives, [https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/08/01/press-conference-president [1]]. With respect to the larger point of the RDI report itself, even before I came into office I was very clear that in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 we did some things that were wrong. We did a whole lot of things that were right, but we tortured some folks. We did some things that were contrary to our values.
People who torture often have sadistic tendencies.
the deliberate, systematic, or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering by one or more persons in an attempt to force another person to yield information or to make a confession or for any other reason
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
it required unnatural torturing to extract a confession
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: torturing
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: persecution
Narrower terms: bastinado, falanga, boot, burning, crucifixion, excruciation, genital torture, judicial torture, kia quen, kittee, nail pulling, nail removal, picket, piquet, prolonged interrogation, rack, sensory deprivation, sleep deprivation, strappado, strapado, electric shock, dismemberment, taking apart
7
noun
Meaning 7
the act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: torment, excruciate, rack
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: pain, anguish, hurt
History
Etymology
From Middle English torture, from Old French torture, from Late Latin tortūra (“a twisting, writhing, of bodily pain, a griping colic;” in Medieval Latin “pain inflicted by judicial or ecclesiastical authority as a means of persuasion, torture”), from Latin tortus (whence also tort), past participle of torquēre (“to twist”).
Across languages
Translations
249 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
marteling
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Albanian:
torturë
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Albanian:
mundim
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Amharic:
ሥቃይ
(śəḳay)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Arabic:
تَعْذِيب
(taʕḏīb)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Arabic:
عَذَاب
(ʕaḏāb)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Armenian:
կտտանք
(kttankʻ)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Armenian:
խոշտանգում
(xoštangum)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Asturian:
tortura
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Azerbaijani:
işgəncə
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Azerbaijani:
əzab
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Basque:
tortura
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Belarusian:
катава́нне
(katavánnje)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Belarusian:
тарту́ра
(tartúra)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Belarusian:
тарту́ры
(tartúry)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Bengali:
যন্ত্রণা
(jontrona)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Bulgarian:
мъче́ние
(mǎčénie)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Bulgarian:
изтеза́ние
(iztezánie)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Burmese:
ညှဉ်းပမ်း
(hnyany:pam:)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Catalan:
tortura
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Cebuano:
kasakit
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Cherokee:
ᎠᏓᎩᎷᏗ
(adagiludi)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Cherokee:
ᎠᏓᎩᎵᏲᏍᏙᏗ
(adagiliyosdodi)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Chinese Mandarin:
折磨
(zhémó)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Chinese Mandarin:
煎熬
(jiān'áo)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Chinese Mandarin:
拷問 /拷问
(kǎowèn)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Chinese Mandarin:
酷刑
(kùxíng)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Czech:
mučení
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Danish:
tortur
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Dutch:
marteling
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Dutch:
foltering
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Dutch:
pijniging
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Esperanto:
torturo
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Estonian:
piinamine
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Faroese:
píning
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Fijian:
veivakararawataki
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Finnish:
kidutus
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
French:
torture
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
West-Frisian:
marteling
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Galician:
tortura
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Georgian:
წამება
(c̣ameba)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
German:
Folter
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Gothic:
𐌱𐌰𐌻𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃
(balweins)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Greek:
βασανιστήρια
(vasanistíria)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Ancient Greek:
βάσανος
(básanos)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Gujarati:
ત્રાસ
(trās)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Hausa:
azabtarwa
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Hawaiian:
hoʻomāinoino'
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Hebrew:
עינויים
(inuyím)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Hindi:
यंत्रणा
(yantraṇā)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Hindi:
यातना
(yātnā)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Hindi:
संतापन
(santāpan)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Hungarian:
kínzás
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Icelandic:
pynting
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Ido:
tormento
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Ingrian:
mookka
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Irish:
pianadh
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Japanese:
拷問
(gōmon)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Kazakh:
азаптау
(azaptau)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Kazakh:
азап
(azap)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Kazakh:
қинау
(qinau)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Khmer:
ទារុណកម្ម
(tiərunkam)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Korean:
고문
(gomun)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Northern Kurdish:
şkence
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Northern Kurdish:
îşkence
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Kyrgyz:
кыйноо
(kıynoo)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Kyrgyz:
азап
(azap)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Lao:
ການທໍລະມານ
(kān thǭ la mān)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Lao:
ການທໍຣະມານ
(kān thǭ ra mān)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
Lao:
ທາຣຸນກັມ
(thā run kam)
— intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
