tormenting 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of tormentingnext
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in torturing
intensely or unbearably painful a tormenting injury

Synonyms & Similar Words

tormenting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of torment
as in plaguing
to cause persistent suffering to he was tormented by nightmares about the accident

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tormenting
  1. painful
  2. cruel
  3. torturous
  4. agonizing
  5. afflicting
  6. harsh
  7. excruciating
  8. intense
Adjective
  • Being apart from them was a painful sacrifice, but the promise of Canadian residency for her and eventually her children seemed worth it.
    Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
  • Survivor: Thailand The fake merge and brutal last challenge — where the final three had to hold coins between their fingers in a crazy painful pose — keep this dud out of the bottom spot.
    Dalton Ross, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2024
Definition of painful
Adjective
  • Snape is the cruel but complex potions master at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, played by Alan Rickman in all seven Harry Potter films.
    Jason Fields, Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2024
  • The season two scoop: A cruel winter brings new challenges and unfinished business to Jacob (Ford) and Cara (Mirren) back at Dutton ranch.
    Marc Berman, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
Definition of cruel
Adjective
  • The two halves of this character combine in a captivating performance for which Goggins was happy to endure a torturous prosthetic.
    Ryan Fleming, Deadline, 13 June 2024
  • According to the political scientist Pierre Englebert, the Congolese government and people lose as much as $4 billion in revenue every year due to state agents’ manipulation of mining contracts and payments, torturous budget practices, and outright theft.
    Stephen R. Weissman, Foreign Affairs, 8 June 2015
Definition of torturous
Adjective
  • But even in the worst cases of lupus, the decline—though agonizing—is much slower.
    ByJennifer Couzin-Frankel, science.org, 14 Nov. 2024
  • For people who were close to Cliff Lambert, the still-unresolved legal saga surrounding his brutal killing more than a decade ago has been agonizing.
    Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 4 Nov. 2024
Definition of agonizing
Verb
  • Maylia and Jack are both kids, two of the untold number of minors caught up in one side or the other of the burgeoning fentanyl trade afflicting the US.
    Longreads, Longreads, 4 Oct. 2024
  • Whatever's afflicting you out there, in here the coffee is always hot, the fries are always crispy and the ranch dip is always free.
    Tyler Buchanan, Axios, 18 Oct. 2024
Definition of afflicting
Adjective
  • The corps’ push for additional benefits coincided with a harsh realization for the British Army: For white men, service in the West Indies was viewed as a death sentence due to the high risk of disease.
    Kinsey Gidick, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Dec. 2024
  • With his latest project, he’s found a balance between the harsher realities of the real world, and his own playful spirit.
    Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of harsh
Adjective
  • None of the series is easy to watch, but the fourth episode — in which the 36-year-old comedian takes a multi-day road trip with his estranged father, Joe — is both excruciating and intensely moving.
    EW Staff, EW.com, 5 Dec. 2024
  • After suffering four excruciating defeats to begin its first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Cal could have been swallowed up by deja vu when Wake Forest fought back to trail just 39-36 midway through the fourth quarter on Friday night.
    Jeff Faraudo, The Mercury News, 9 Nov. 2024
Definition of excruciating
Adjective
  • The warm front is a sharp contrast to the close of last week when an arctic surge swept across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic with snow squalls, whiteouts and intense bursts of wind that left 20 million Americans under winter weather warnings or advisories.
    Susan Miller, USA TODAY, 9 Dec. 2024
  • Becoming a professor requires years and years of intense study, often carried out in isolation and poverty.
    Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2024
Definition of intense
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near tormenting

tormented

tormenting

tormentor

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Cite this Entry

“Tormenting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tormenting. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

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More from Merriam-Webster on tormenting

Nglish: Translation of tormenting for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of tormenting for Arabic Speakers

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