torture

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French torture, from Late Latin tortura (“a twisting, writhing, of bodily pain, a griping colic; in Middle Latin pain inflicted by judicial or ecclesiastical authority as a means of persuasion, torture”), from Latin tortus (whence also tort), past participle of torquere (“to twist”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔɹt͡ʃɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔːt͡ʃə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)tʃə(ɹ)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Homophone: torcher
• Hyphenation: tor‧ture

Noun

torture (countable and uncountable, plural tortures)

1. Intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony.

   Using large dogs to attack bound, hand-cuffed prisoners is clearly torture.

   In every war there are acts of torture that cause the world to shudder.

   People confess to anything under torture.

2. (chiefly literary) The "suffering of the heart" imposed by one on another, as in personal relationships.

   Every time she says 'goodbye' it is torture!

   Coventry City midfielder Josh Ruffels described his 11 months out injured as 'absolute torture' after the goalless draw with Derby County Under-21s. ()

3. (colloquial) (often as "absolute torture") stage fright, severe embarrassment.

Verb

torture (third-person singular simple present tortures, present participle torturing, simple past and past participle tortured)

1. (transitive) To intentionally inflict severe pain or suffering on (someone).

   People who torture often have sadistic tendencies.

   In the aftermath of 9/11, we did some things that were wrong. We did a whole lot of things that were right, but, we tortured some folks. We did some things that were contrary to our values.

Further reading

• torture in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• torture in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• torture at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• trouter

Verb

torture

1. first-person singular present subjunctive of torturar
2. third-person singular present subjunctive of torturar

Etymology

From Late Latin tortūra, from Latin tortus, from torqueō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɔʁ.tyʁ/

• Audio (France, Paris)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -yʁ
• Homophones: torturent, tortures

Noun

torture f (plural tortures)

1. torture
   • 1837, Louis Viardot, L’Ingénieux Hidalgo Don Quichotte de la Manche‎^{fr.Wikisource}, translation of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Volume I, Chapter I:

     Avec ces propos et d’autres semblables, le pauvre gentilhomme perdait le jugement. Il passait les nuits et se donnait la torture pour les comprendre, pour les approfondir, pour leur tirer le sens des entrailles, ce qu’Aristote lui-même n’aurait pu faire, s’il fût ressuscité tout exprès pour cela.

     With these passages and other similar ones, the poor gentleman lost his judgement. He spent his nights and gave himself torture to understand them, to consider them more deeply, to take from them their deepest meaning, which Aristotle himself would not have been able to do, had he been resurrected for that very purpose.

Verb

torture

1. first-person singular present indicative of torturer
2. third-person singular present indicative of torturer
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of torturer
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of torturer
5. second-person singular imperative of torturer

Further reading

• “torture” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ure

Noun

torture f

1. plural of tortura

Anagrams

• rotture, rutterò, ruttore

Participle

tortūre

1. vocative masculine singular of tortūrus

Verb

torture

1. First-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of torturar
2. Third-person singular (ele, ela, also used with tu and você^?) present subjunctive of torturar
3. Third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of torturar
4. Third-person singular (você) negative imperative of torturar

Verb

torture

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of torturar.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of torturar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of torturar.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of torturar.