torture

Definition

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.

Etymology

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”).

Example Sentences

• "People confess to anything under torture."
• "Using large dogs to attack bound, hand-cuffed prisoners is clearly torture."
• "What new tortures await me?"

Related Words