tortures 1 of 2

noun

plural of torture
1
as in nightmares
a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness it's torture for me to see you so unhappy

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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

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tortures

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of torture
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

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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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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 tortures
Noun
Penal Code 597 states that any person who who maliciously and intentionally maims, mutilates, tortures, or wounds a living animal is guilty of a crime. — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 5 Sep. 2026 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
At first, all signs point to Bobby, including a mercenary who survived the attack on Halstead Manor that Eddie tortures to extract information. — Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2026 On his latest Hyperdub release, the Japanese producer born Takahide Higuchi sings more than on previous records but tortures his voice through a gauntlet of pitch-shifter effects. — Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 27 July 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
  1. nightmares
  2. pains
  3. plagues
  4. distorts
  5. horrors
  6. distresses
  7. persecutes
  8. contorts
Noun
  • Acceptance Soenen’s denial eventually gave way to panic attacks and nightmares.
    — Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026
  • One of those nightmares centers on whether the execution team will be able to establish an IV line.
    — Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of nightmares
Noun
  • In the past, Fox News has taken pains to illustrate to its viewers how the election could tilt blue.
    — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Symptoms usually begin within two weeks and can last nearly three weeks, including aches and pains, nausea and rashes.
    — Angie DiMichele, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of pains
Verb
  • Walker, who leads the NFL with 360 rushing yards, also is adept at avoiding an issue that plagues many ball carriers and receivers in the NFL.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026
  • What plagues America right now, in Cox’s telling, is not bad manners, or even political division, but contempt—the conviction that those who don’t share our opinions or values are beneath us and unworthy of good-faith engagement.
    — McKay Coppins, The Atlantic, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of plagues
Verb
  • The importance of his work, the difficulty of it—the Hollywood reverence almost distorts it.
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2026
  • But this perception completely distorts what most Palestinians believe and are prepared to accept.
    — Michael Robbins, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of distorts
Noun
  • The play is a gently unfolding, calmly delivered tale of the decades of horrors endured by a real-life person named Eddie Jaku.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Rebecca and Verity, which stars Johnson, are also about a new, naïve lover entering the home of a bad man with a wife hidden in his house of horrors.
    — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of horrors
Noun
  • Pain, infection, medication side effects, and other physical and emotional distresses may be expressed through shouting, intimidating gestures, kicking, pushing, or punching.
    — Jordan Rau, NPR, 19 July 2026
Definition of distresses
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.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
  • In Russia, the civilian repressive apparatus persecutes the military, which leaps at every chance for revenge.
    — Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Definition of persecutes
Verb
  • Monk’s music contorts into an ecstatic dance, one more befitting of a ritual trance state than a night at the Five Spot.
    — Levi Dayan, Pitchfork, 11 May 2026
  • Bridges contorts his body, and jacks up an errant layup, but the play isn’t done there.
    — Fred Katz, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
Definition of contorts

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Cite this Entry

“Tortures.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tortures. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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