Excruciate

//ɛkˈskɹu.ʃi.eɪ̯t// adj, verb

adj, verb ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To inflict intense pain or mental distress on (someone); to torture. transitive

    "But this it is that doth excruciate The verie ſubſtance of my vexed ſoule: To ſee our neighbours that were wont to quake And tremble at the Perſean Monarkes name, Now ſits and laughs our regiment to ſcorne, […]"

  2. 2
    subject to torture wordnet
  3. 3
    torment emotionally or mentally wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Excruciated; tortured. obsolete

    "1616, George Chapman's translation of Homer's Odyssey And here my heart long time excruciate Amongst the leaves I rested all that night."

Synonyms

All synonyms
racktormenttortureacheafflictaggrieve

Example

More examples

"But this it is that doth excruciate The verie ſubſtance of my vexed ſoule: To ſee our neighbours that were wont to quake And tremble at the Perſean Monarkes name, Now ſits and laughs our regiment to ſcorne, […]"

Etymology

From Latin excruciātus, past participle of excruciō, from ex- + cruciō, from the base of crux (“cross”).

More for "excruciate"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.