as in tormented
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1
as in persecuted
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in distorted
to twist (something) out of a natural or normal shape or condition
tortured her naturally straight hair into curls
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Recent Examples of tortured
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 20 Mar. 2026
Henshall is a hoot as the tortured inspector, though the series has recently taken on a new dimension with the addition of Ashley Jensen (so brilliant in Ricky Gervais’ Hollywood satire, Extras) as the formidable DI Ruth Calder.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Mar. 2026
Look, credit where credit is due, the man is good at a tortured love confession!
—Christina Grace Tucker, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026
During the show’s wildly popular first season, Robby was treated as a swaggering, tortured heartthrob by the viewers who turned this HBO Max original into an Emmy-winning success.
—Esther Zuckerman, Vanity Fair, 20 Feb. 2026
Fennell cast Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff and Margot Robbie plays Cathy in this tale of childhood friends turned tortured lovers, kept apart by heartbreaking misunderstandings and their own destructive decisions.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026
According to Deadline, Charli will be possessed by a violent, tortured spirit in director Takashi Miike’s upcoming untitled slasher-horror film that is scheduled to start filming in Japan next month; the role was previously reported, but the details about the plot are new.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 10 Feb. 2026
One of the mansion’s signature characters is, aptly, a tortured bride.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Trapped there, Goggins manifests both versions of his character at once, flickering between flashbacks of the steady Cooper and the present-day, tortured Ghoul.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2026
Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026
Estimates suggest that as many as 1,900 Jews were abducted, tortured and murdered by the military junta during the six-year Dirty War, when many sources say 30,000 people were disappeared.
—Juan Melamed, Sun Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2026
In court, his siblings testified that Gabriel had been beaten with a wooden club and a broomstick, and tortured with pepper spray, Icy Hot, a metal hanger, a belt, lighters and BB guns, among other objects.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2026
Court records show that Gabriel was tortured by starvation, shot by BB guns, and forced to eat cat litter, cat feces and his own vomit.
—Rick Montanez, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
His Venice entry triggered multiple walkouts in Sonoma, though, especially during a scene featuring the always solid Oscar Isaac getting tortured.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 29 Mar. 2026
Prisoners were shackled to the walls, tortured and often confined to airless, windowless punishment cells.
—Tamara Hinson, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Mar. 2026
The Aquarion sale has had a long and tortured regulatory history, having been first proposed during a bitter, years-long standoff between the utility industry and former PURA Chairman Marissa Gillett.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 25 Mar. 2026
But Saleh has carved out a unique place for himself as an avatar for restrained, tortured, and resilient Arab male dignity.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
The getaway spirals into terror when Katie (Charli xcx) becomes possessed by a violent, tortured spirit (Mizuhara), unleashing a nightmare steeped in Japanese horror tradition.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 20 Mar. 2026
Henshall is a hoot as the tortured inspector, though the series has recently taken on a new dimension with the addition of Ashley Jensen (so brilliant in Ricky Gervais’ Hollywood satire, Extras) as the formidable DI Ruth Calder.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Mar. 2026
Look, credit where credit is due, the man is good at a tortured love confession!
—Christina Grace Tucker, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026
During the show’s wildly popular first season, Robby was treated as a swaggering, tortured heartthrob by the viewers who turned this HBO Max original into an Emmy-winning success.
—Esther Zuckerman, Vanity Fair, 20 Feb. 2026
Fennell cast Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff and Margot Robbie plays Cathy in this tale of childhood friends turned tortured lovers, kept apart by heartbreaking misunderstandings and their own destructive decisions.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026
According to Deadline, Charli will be possessed by a violent, tortured spirit in director Takashi Miike’s upcoming untitled slasher-horror film that is scheduled to start filming in Japan next month; the role was previously reported, but the details about the plot are new.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 10 Feb. 2026
One of the mansion’s signature characters is, aptly, a tortured bride.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Trapped there, Goggins manifests both versions of his character at once, flickering between flashbacks of the steady Cooper and the present-day, tortured Ghoul.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2026
Verb
Bundy tortured, raped and killed dozens of young women in more than half a dozen states in the 1970s.
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026
Estimates suggest that as many as 1,900 Jews were abducted, tortured and murdered by the military junta during the six-year Dirty War, when many sources say 30,000 people were disappeared.
—Juan Melamed, Sun Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2026
In court, his siblings testified that Gabriel had been beaten with a wooden club and a broomstick, and tortured with pepper spray, Icy Hot, a metal hanger, a belt, lighters and BB guns, among other objects.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2026
Court records show that Gabriel was tortured by starvation, shot by BB guns, and forced to eat cat litter, cat feces and his own vomit.
—Rick Montanez, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
His Venice entry triggered multiple walkouts in Sonoma, though, especially during a scene featuring the always solid Oscar Isaac getting tortured.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 29 Mar. 2026
Prisoners were shackled to the walls, tortured and often confined to airless, windowless punishment cells.
—Tamara Hinson, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Mar. 2026
The Aquarion sale has had a long and tortured regulatory history, having been first proposed during a bitter, years-long standoff between the utility industry and former PURA Chairman Marissa Gillett.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 25 Mar. 2026
But Saleh has carved out a unique place for himself as an avatar for restrained, tortured, and resilient Arab male dignity.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tortured
Verb
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The Eduiot site includes photographs and audiovisual material, and features the accounts of parents, siblings, cousins, nephews and nieces of Jews persecuted and disappeared under the dictatorship.—
Juan Melamed,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
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The helpless and much persecuted turtles were cooked in a rich, creamy soup with chunks of meat.—
James Stout,
Outside,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Not access distorted by opaque algorithms and market forces that concentrate the power in the hands of the few.—
Marta Balaga,
Variety,
26 Mar. 2026
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Lebohang Morake, the Grammy‑winning South African composer known professionally as Lebo M, is suing a comedian for $27 million, alleging a viral joke about the opening chant of The Lion King distorted the meaning of the song and damaged his life’s work.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In past times of tension and conflict, Iran has at times harassed shipping though the narrows, and during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, both sides attacked tankers and other vessels, using naval mines to completely shut down traffic at points.—
Jon Gambrell,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Mar. 2026
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In past times of tension and conflict, Iran has at times harassed shipping though the narrows, and during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, both sides attacked tankers and other vessels, using naval mines to completely shut down traffic at points.—
Jon Gambrell,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But as these researchers are the first to admit, the difficulty of defining intelligence is as old as the study of thinking itself—and has plagued artificial intelligence as a field from its very earliest days.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
30 Mar. 2026
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The broader transportation program was also plagued with allegations of fraud in 2023 -- shortly after HCPF, relying on an apparently faulty analysis, recommended a significant increase in reimbursement rates in that service.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The mountains themselves are too deformed to hold hydrocarbons.—
Stephanie Pappas,
Scientific American,
6 Mar. 2026
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Hadi tells an engaging story, brings complex and surprising characters to life, lends a locale an aesthetic iconography, and renders personal identity inextricable from the forces of history that shaped or deformed it.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The United Kingdom hosted a virtual summit Thursday with over three dozen countries seeking to establish a plan for reopening the Strait of Hormuz as a frustrated White House orders them to figure the issue out for themselves.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
2 Apr. 2026
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The frustrated plaintiffs turned to a second funeral home two weeks later.—
Rafael Olmeda,
Sun Sentinel,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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However, they are widely considered to be highly capable, especially for coalition warfare, despite some technical issues that have afflicted them in their first years of service.—
Pan Pylas,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
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Our mission is to feed the hungry, comfort the afflicted and offer hope to those in need, including the LGBTQ community.—
Donna Lamb,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Egon Schiele’s show at the Neue Galerie suggests that the artist’s raw, contorted depictions of the body were influenced by a formative relationship with a doctor.—
Hannah Jocelyn,
New Yorker,
19 Mar. 2026
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Cross-country skiing is known for its attrition, an event that leaves its competitors foam-mouthed and slack-jawed; athletes of iron reduced to trembling and contorted shapes on the floor.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tortured.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tortured. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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