Torment

//ˈtɔː(ɹ)mɛnt// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A catapult or other kind of war-engine. countable, obsolete, uncountable
  2. 2
    the act of harassing someone wordnet
  3. 3
    Torture, originally as inflicted by an instrument of torture. countable, uncountable

    "I've gone through living torment."

  4. 4
    a severe affliction wordnet
  5. 5
    Any extreme pain, anguish or misery, either physical or mental. countable, uncountable

    "He was bitter from the torments of the divorce."

Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain wordnet
  2. 7
    extreme mental distress wordnet
  3. 8
    a feeling of intense annoyance caused by being tormented wordnet
  4. 9
    unbearable physical pain wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To cause severe suffering to (stronger than to vex but weaker than to torture.) transitive

    "The child tormented the flies by pulling their wings off."

  2. 2
    subject to torture wordnet
  3. 3
    torment emotionally or mentally wordnet
  4. 4
    treat cruelly wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
agonyanguishtortureanguishcurseexcruciate

Example

More examples

"I was a constant torment to my parents."

Etymology

From Middle English torment, from Old French torment, from Latin tormentum (“something operated by twisting”), from torquere (“to twist”).

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