as in wrenching
intensely or unbearably painful
watched the final torturing moments of the game as the lead constantly shifted between the two teams
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in deformation
the twisting of something out of a natural or normal shape or condition
fans of the natural look frown on the torturing of garden trees and shrubs into fantastic shapes
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in persecuting
to cause persistent suffering to
the neighbor's dog constantly tortures our cat, barking at him and chasing him down the street
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in distorting
to twist (something) out of a natural or normal shape or condition
tortured her naturally straight hair into curls
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of torturing
Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
In another film with a less happy outcome, the woman who claims to be the amnesiac’s wife is an impostor who ends up torturing him.
—Literary Hub, 24 Oct. 2025
Additionally, before season one aired, Page Six reported Zakkour was allegedly at the scene of the arrest of crypto investor John Woeltz, who has been charged with kidnapping and torturing a man alongside William Duplessie, per AP News.
—Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025
Murphy also revealed there would be a focus on the Hungarian noblewoman Elizabeth Báthory, who, along with her servants, was accused of torturing and killing hundreds of young women in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2025
More than 3,000 Hamas fighters gunned down civilians, torturing and mutilating some of them in their own homes, still in their pajamas.
—Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
The trailer presents the Jimmies as a downright terrifying clan, showing them violating and torturing other survivors.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Sep. 2025
And targeting, torturing, and murdering political opponents, rivals, and critics have marked the conflict since its beginning.
—Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
Jamie Simpson of Covington was sentenced in March to 60 years in prison for holding his wife captive and torturing her for hours before barricading himself inside her home in a lengthy standoff with police.
—Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
Dahbia Benkired was convicted of raping, torturing and killing Lola Daviet, according the BBC, BFMTV and The New York Times.
—Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
In another film with a less happy outcome, the woman who claims to be the amnesiac’s wife is an impostor who ends up torturing him.
—Literary Hub, 24 Oct. 2025
Additionally, before season one aired, Page Six reported Zakkour was allegedly at the scene of the arrest of crypto investor John Woeltz, who has been charged with kidnapping and torturing a man alongside William Duplessie, per AP News.
—Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025
Murphy also revealed there would be a focus on the Hungarian noblewoman Elizabeth Báthory, who, along with her servants, was accused of torturing and killing hundreds of young women in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2025
More than 3,000 Hamas fighters gunned down civilians, torturing and mutilating some of them in their own homes, still in their pajamas.
—Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
The trailer presents the Jimmies as a downright terrifying clan, showing them violating and torturing other survivors.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Sep. 2025
And targeting, torturing, and murdering political opponents, rivals, and critics have marked the conflict since its beginning.
—Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
Jamie Simpson of Covington was sentenced in March to 60 years in prison for holding his wife captive and torturing her for hours before barricading himself inside her home in a lengthy standoff with police.
—Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for torturing
Noun
-
Asurvey of three species of octopuses from Europe and the Americas catalogued a total of 6,781 arm deformations.—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi,
Harpers Magazine,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Their anisotropic molecular structure allows precise shape changes and, in the case of CLCEs, structural color changes under mechanical deformation.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The former human-rights lawyer entered on a tourist visa and filed for political asylum in October of that year, claiming the governments that succeeded Correa were persecuting him.—
Syra Ortiz Blanes,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
-
For 25 years, Chavism has co-opted Venezuela's infrastructure for its own enrichment, persecuting journalists and opposition, wrecking the economy, and leaving its citizens in poverty.—
Kristina Foltz,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Over the summer, officials in Turkey — where the lawsuit says some of the allegedly fraudulent Drake streams originated — started investigating Spotify over several allegations, including bribes for playlist placement and bot streams distorting domestic charts.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Other factors may also be distorting reports of public support for political violence.—
Ryan Kennedy,
The Conversation,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Waiting for news was torturous.—
Grace White,
Essence,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Hiking through the deep snow drifts above 26,000 feet is torturous and time consuming.—
Frederick Dreier,
Outside,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Personal remembrance becomes interwoven with political fiction, historical fact, and mythological distortion in the flood of stories that customarily follows a war.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The last quarter of the eighteenth century was a pre-democratic era, and all efforts to read a Jacksonian or Tocquevillian faith in the wisdom of the common man into the American founding are misleading distortions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
If Redania doesn’t rise to oppose the evils plaguing the Continent, who will?—
Scott Meslow,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
-
The eyesore property has become a visible metaphor for the city’s retail challenges and general setbacks plaguing the Green Line, the Midway and the once-promising University Avenue business corridor.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Each of the authors who spoke to Rolling Stone say Amazon has a clear responsibility to invest in more software and moderation that prevents AI scam books like these from screwing over readers and authors.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
27 Oct. 2025
-
Plumbing in an old house requires reaching into funny crevices and screwing things the right way.—
Matthew Hutson,
IEEE Spectrum,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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On Friday, a big defensive play by Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Kiké Hernández and an agonizing baserunning mistake by Toronto’s Addison Barger ended the game, setting up a winner-takes-all Game 7 on Saturday.—
Hailey Salvian,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
-
For Morris, the hours after landfall were agonizing.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Torturing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torturing. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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