tortured 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of torturednext
as in tormented

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

tortured

2 of 2

verb

past tense of torture
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tortured
  1. distorted
  2. afflicted
  3. frustrated
  4. besieged
  5. curled
  6. tested
  7. aggravated
  8. harried
Verb
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average, with a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 27, and the S&P 500 Index’s P/E at 24, are both distorted by tech stocks, such as Nvidia (NVDA).
    Lawrence Carrel, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Has that distorted the trajectory of his adult life?
    Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2024
Definition of distorted
Verb
  • For example, the same researchers at Cornell University who invented the new goggles have previously shown a reduction in blood flow in the brains of mice afflicted with the condition.
    Michael Franco, New Atlas, 29 Dec. 2024
  • Terrified, the patient almost reflexively asked her surgeon to remove both of her breasts, even though the cancer afflicted only one side.
    Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 22 Dec. 2024
Definition of afflicted
Adjective
  • Less than 10 minutes into a British parliamentary hearing on Tuesday, during which a Shein representative equivocated on questions relating to the e-tail Goliath’s supply chain and a potential public float, a visibly frustrated Member of Parliament made his feelings known in no uncertain terms.
    Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 7 Jan. 2025
  • In a video that accompanied the post, Johns can be seen sitting in the back seat of the self-driving car, growing increasingly frustrated as the vehicle makes several loops around a parking lot.
    Luke Chinman, People.com, 7 Jan. 2025
Definition of frustrated
Verb
  • After jumping out to a 9-2 start this season, the Phoenix Suns have sputtered over the past month as injuries have besieged their Big Three.
    Bryan Toporek, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2024
  • The wealthiest man in the world used his social media platform X to amplify the unrest, and GOP lawmakers were besieged with phone calls to their offices telling them to oppose the plan.
    Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Dec. 2024
Definition of besieged
Verb
  • The old woman, though, stares at the screen, the shadow of a smile curled into her lips and a frown barely creasing her forehead.
    Matthew Bremner, Rolling Stone, 5 Jan. 2025
  • The ball curled through the proverbial eye of a needle, between Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez, and behind Alexis Mac Allister, who was forced to spin on his heels.
    Laurie Whitwell, The Athletic, 5 Jan. 2025
Definition of curled
Adjective
  • But beyond those elite few prospects, why would coaches play or pay freshmen instead of the veterans, the tested and proven Division I players, now available in what amounts to forever free agency?
    CJ Moore, The Athletic, 25 July 2024
  • There is no reliable and tested method that can say that a certain volcano will erupt on a certain day or at a certain time.
    Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024
Definition of tested
Adjective
  • Pritchett is currently facing two counts of aggravated kidnapping, per Harris County court records.
    Samira Asma-Sadeque, People.com, 7 Jan. 2025
  • The content creator was charged in December 2024 with one count of aggravated kidnapping, allegedly taking two unnamed women on a dangerous high-speed car ride and threatening their lives as a result.
    Marc Griffin, VIBE.com, 6 Jan. 2025
Definition of aggravated
Adjective
  • Berlin writes about harried and divorced single women, many of them in working-class jobs, with uncanny grace.
    New York Times, New York Times, 8 July 2024
  • The 2021 growing season was cooler than average with maturation and ripening less harried than usual.
    Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 12 Dec. 2024
Definition of harried
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 tortured

torture

tortured

torturer

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Tortured.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tortured. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on tortured

Nglish: Translation of tortured for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of tortured for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Top 12 Sophisticated Compliments

Word of the Year 2024 | Polarization

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
yorkshire terrier dressed up as a doctor
A Visit with the Word Doctor: Medical Terms Quiz Give your vocabulary a checkup