torture

CEFRB2

/ˈtɔːt͡ʃə/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    Severe physical or mental pain deliberately caused to someone.

  2. 02

    verb

    To cause someone severe pain, especially deliberately.

Examples

  • Many of the refugees have suffered torture.

  • The cruelty of the torture in the police station is beyond description.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
2
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • [ˈtʰɔɹt͡ʃɚ] ~ [ˈtʰɔɹt͡ʃɹ̩]

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Severe pain or anguish, of mind or body.

  2. The infliction of severe pain or anguish, especially as an interrogation technique or punishment; (usually in the plural) a technique, method, or device which is designed to inflict such anguish.

  3. Sexual activity involving the infliction of pain to a certain body part or in a certain manner.

More examples

In context

  • The torture made him confess to crimes he had not committed.

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

  • People confess to anything under torture.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The cruel king used blank to force his prisoners to confess secrets.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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