as in plagued
to cause persistent suffering to
he was tormented by nightmares about the accident
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as in tortured
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Recent Examples of tormented
Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025
Melvin is tormented by a quartet of bullies and ends up falling out of a second-story window into a drum of toxic waste.
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 25 Aug. 2025
Then Ingvartsen tormented the Quakes in another way, launching a long ball to a star striker Anders Dreyer.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 18 Aug. 2025
Another idea stemmed from seeing how his baby sister Aleen was being tormented by mosquitos.
—Christine Ro, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
The video comes just days after Kohberger reportedly complained to prison guards about being tormented by other prisoners, according to the Daily Mail.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Jones falsely claimed the families staged their children's deaths in order to drum up support for gun control laws, and his followers stalked and tormented the families for years.
—Tovia Smith, NPR, 13 Aug. 2025
These were the questions that tormented Levine in the weeks after her father’s death.
—Alessandra Schade, Time, 5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Omar, tormented by the first girl’s dying screams, enlists the help of his exhausted supervisor, Rana (Saja Kilani, riveting), who was on her way home after a long shift when Hind’s predicament first crossed his screen.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025
Melvin is tormented by a quartet of bullies and ends up falling out of a second-story window into a drum of toxic waste.
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 25 Aug. 2025
Then Ingvartsen tormented the Quakes in another way, launching a long ball to a star striker Anders Dreyer.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 18 Aug. 2025
Another idea stemmed from seeing how his baby sister Aleen was being tormented by mosquitos.
—Christine Ro, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
The video comes just days after Kohberger reportedly complained to prison guards about being tormented by other prisoners, according to the Daily Mail.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Jones falsely claimed the families staged their children's deaths in order to drum up support for gun control laws, and his followers stalked and tormented the families for years.
—Tovia Smith, NPR, 13 Aug. 2025
These were the questions that tormented Levine in the weeks after her father’s death.
—Alessandra Schade, Time, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tormented
Verb
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This particular finding presents a more nuanced framing of gun violence and challenges dominant narratives about Chicago’s violence that have plagued the city’s reputation for decades.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
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The study also pinpointed a bacterium that plagued these colossal ice age creatures.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Swift making herself into a tortured poet trying to outdo a pretentious, typewriter-wielding ex.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
4 Sep. 2025
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Co-starring Andrew Scott as Rodgers and Margaret Qualley as a semi-fictionalized admirer of the closeted Hart, Blue Moon promises to be a wrenching look at a complex and tortured songwriter, with stunning performances to boot.—
Samantha Allen,
Them.,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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His deportation to El Salvador violated a 2019 court order that protected him from being deported to his home country because of concerns that he’d be persecuted by violent gangs.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
25 Aug. 2025
-
Criminals are to be persecuted.—
Tommy Trenchard,
NPR,
23 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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And with creativity and innovation so discouraged, an employee who thrives with an entrepreneurial spirit might feel stifled or frustrated.—
Julia Sullivan,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
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In 2021, at a meeting in Olive Branch, Hiatt faced frustrated farmers.—
Molly Parker,
ProPublica,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But Thomas was afflicted by health troubles on the 26-56 Nets last year.—
Alex Kirschenbaum,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
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The World Health Organization states that in 2021 alone, nearly 57 million people were afflicted with some form of dementia.—
Forbes.com,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Some writers who criticized Taylor Swift reported that they and their family members had been threatened, harassed, and doxed.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Landslide in western Sudan kills at least 1,000 A landslide in western Sudan killed at least 1,000 people, intensifying hardship in a country besieged by years of civil war.—
Tasneem Nashrulla,
semafor.com,
4 Sep. 2025
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Validated Insights To even the most casual observer, these must feel like belligerent times in higher education – surrounded by fires, besieged, and under crushing market pressures all at once.—
Derek Newton,
Forbes.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The relatively slow summer months can provide harried bankers, economists and other executives and professionals at least a little more time for reflection and comprehensive analysis.—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Aug. 2025
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This aging champion for the little guy yearns for a fight at every occasion, not aware that his stubbornness and ego have proved to be his undoing, and Washington responds with a harried, vulnerable performance.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
15 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tormented.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tormented. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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