1
as in painful
hard to accept or bear especially emotionally
it was a tormenting moment as they helplessly watched the other team score in the final seconds of the game
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in torturing
intensely or unbearably painful
a tormenting injury
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in plaguing
to cause persistent suffering to
he was tormented by nightmares about the accident
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 tormenting
Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2026
In another, more recent case, three Wyoming men were charged with tormenting a moose by trying to ride it.
—Wendy Keefover, Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2026
Those mistakes neutralized some exciting attacking play from Austin FC, which spent the 90 minutes tormenting Minnesota United down the left flank.
—David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 21 Feb. 2026
While the dogs are now safe with foster families, Holmes faces multiple charges, including confining an animal without sufficient food or water, keeping animals in an enclosure without exercise or air, and tormenting or depriving an animal.
—Nikiya Carrero, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
The self-torturing helices of thought twisting inside the young minds on the courts are no less fraught than the recursive neuroses tormenting the addicts down the hill.
—Hermione Hoby, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
The Chargers largely shut them down on offense, but New England was able to cobble together three field goals and a touchdown by tight end Hunter Henry, who, in a tormenting twist, began his career with the Chargers.
—Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2026
Season 4 is not going to let up on tormenting Will, according to Ramon Rodriguez, the actor who plays him.
—Rodney Ho, AJC.com, 8 Jan. 2026
Stop tormenting the boy, says Helga.
—Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025
Verb
With the help of journalist Gerrick Kennedy, the memoir details Brandy's meteoric rise to fame as a young teen while volleying ambition, exhaustion and self-doubt, moving through a predatory and tormenting industry and being misunderstood in the public eye.
—Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2026
In another, more recent case, three Wyoming men were charged with tormenting a moose by trying to ride it.
—Wendy Keefover, Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2026
Those mistakes neutralized some exciting attacking play from Austin FC, which spent the 90 minutes tormenting Minnesota United down the left flank.
—David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 21 Feb. 2026
While the dogs are now safe with foster families, Holmes faces multiple charges, including confining an animal without sufficient food or water, keeping animals in an enclosure without exercise or air, and tormenting or depriving an animal.
—Nikiya Carrero, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
The self-torturing helices of thought twisting inside the young minds on the courts are no less fraught than the recursive neuroses tormenting the addicts down the hill.
—Hermione Hoby, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
The Chargers largely shut them down on offense, but New England was able to cobble together three field goals and a touchdown by tight end Hunter Henry, who, in a tormenting twist, began his career with the Chargers.
—Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2026
Season 4 is not going to let up on tormenting Will, according to Ramon Rodriguez, the actor who plays him.
—Rodney Ho, AJC.com, 8 Jan. 2026
Stop tormenting the boy, says Helga.
—Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tormenting
Adjective
-
My ila facial was pure joy—no painful extraction or aggravating scrubs here.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Both seasons were painfully funny (often just painful), but the humor sometimes got lost as time has proven even its most over-the-top bits eerily correct.—
Jennifer Silverman,
Rolling Stone,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Deeply troubled by the demographic and social problems plaguing the Nenets people, Nerkagi founded the Land of Hope—a tundra school for children which combines modern and traditional education and provides support to orphans and lonely elders.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
-
But since 2023, local municipalities have argued that the majority of ozone plaguing the cities is not their fault.—
Sarah Henry,
AZCentral.com,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Some countries have laws administering what critics believe are cruel punishments or place undue restrictions on women and minorities.—
Rachel Royster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 Mar. 2026
-
While Tony coddles his own bruised ego, there is clearly a greater reason for the cruel hijinks, which comes in the form of some significant cash.—
David John Chávez,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Another wrenching question, of course, is whether at least the younger Perez siblings would want or need to go with Olga to Guatemala if she were deported.—
Tim Padgett,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Mar. 2026
-
These four novels create a convincing, wrenching, kaleidoscopic picture of the range and repetitions of the most fatal kind of love; the sort of love that allows nothing else to grow around it, that eradicates all dignity; a love which, in order to be completed, must be told.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
But so often left unsaid by Gu are the moral ambiguities that come with choosing to represent a country that has been heavily criticized by Human Rights Watch, among other watchdog groups, for denying rights of freedom of expression and for persecuting government critics.—
Zak Keefer,
New York Times,
17 Feb. 2026
-
The term refers to biblical passages in which Jesus described Jews in specific communities who were persecuting the early Christians.—
Jennifer Berry Hawes,
ProPublica,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
While folks all across the nation are grappling with torturous TSA lines, Joe Jonas actually had fun at the airport on Saturday.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
24 Mar. 2026
-
The verified account, @realanndowd (not to be confused with Bald Ann Dowd), made its first post on March 18 — finally ending the torturous 5,642-day dry spell of there being no Ann Dowd on the app.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
In an agonizing twist, just as the show had gotten underway, Eden received word she had been accepted by a professional ballet company.—
Scot Paltrow,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Either way, at least the agonizing holding pattern would be over.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
There’s the one about afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
13 Mar. 2026
-
One of the strengths of the film is a precise visual design that alternates between distance and intimacy, with Caswill using the landscapes of her Alberta location to clearly and concisely express the sense of loneliness and isolation afflicting her heroine.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tormenting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tormenting. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
