TORTURED Synonyms: 179 Similar and Opposite Words

tortured 1 of 2

adjective

as in tormented

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tortured

2 of 2

verb

past tense of torture

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

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as in distorted

to twist (something) out of a natural or normal shape or condition tortured her naturally straight hair into curls

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of tortured

Adjective

Wuthering Heights In Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte presents a world of conflicts, frictions between families, passions, and attachments—especially those of Catherine Earnshaw and the tortured Heathcliff—across an untamed landscape. — Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2026 Eve resists scream-queen clichés, but Gemma’s boringly typical tortured backstory is as flat as her wan chemistry with Nick. — Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026 In Kris’ case, that obsession was with Camp Miasma, its tortured villain Little Death, and the oversexualized victims who ended up on the other end of Little Death’s spear, terrible sequel after terrible sequel. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2026 The committee is tasked with analyzing and reviewing problematic conference papers and enhancing quality screening of articles prior to publication to detect integrity issues such as plagiarism and tortured phrases. — IEEE Spectrum, 30 July 2026 This discovery stunned de Man’s colleagues and students, and was particularly traumatic for Derrida, who attempted a tortured but ultimately unconvincing reckoning with what his friend had written as a young man. — Literary Hub, 30 July 2026 Bernstine brings just enough light to her tortured cop, while McNairy brings just enough anguish to his good-hearted caretaker. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 27 July 2026 But that's the barest of sketches regarding the long, complicated, litigious, political, tortured road that got us to today. — Adrienne Roberts, Freep.com, 24 July 2026 Natalie Portman famously saw a twisted version of herself in mirrors as part of her Oscar-winning performance as a tortured ballerina in Black Swan. — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 17 July 2026

Verb

King seemed stranded in a faraway world, tortured by a discomfort that no amount of affection could soothe. — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026 Hatami has spearheaded a number of high-profile cases against child abusers in Los Angeles, California, including the murder of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez, who was tortured and killed by his mother and her boyfriend. — Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026 Fort Worth Meacham International Airport The episode opens with Joe being tortured inside an airplane hangar. — Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Aug. 2026 One of Nader’s grandsons, Shah Rukh, was tortured by a greedy court eunuch named Agha Muhammad to force him to reveal the location of the invaluable diamond. — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026 He was brutally tortured before being assigned his painting duties. — ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026 Other commissions include a monument to honor Native voices, a sculpture of gospel singer and Civil Rights activist Mahalia Jackson, and a site to recognize the survivors who were tortured by the Chicago Police Department during the 1970s-1990s. — Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026 Lebson and Richards ⁠denied that allegation, saying that Robert Gilman was held in extremely harsh conditions, tortured and injected with mind-altering drugs by guards, treatment that led to his transfer to the civilian hospital. — Reuters, NBC news, 7 Aug. 2026 Prior to Tae-ha’s arrival, Eun-sae was tortured by Sang-gil and his men. — Kayti Burt, Time, 7 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tortured

Adjective

Others were placed under house arrest, harassed or subject to extensive surveillance, or had their passports confiscated, according to prior NPR reporting and the findings of the United Nations and rights groups.

— Emily Feng, NPR, 17 May 2026
For years, Christian clergy who live and work in Jerusalem have reported being frequently spat on, harassed and even physically attacked by Israeli extremists.

— Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 1 May 2026

Definition of harassed

Verb

García Luna pledged to restore independence and public confidence in the Public Ministry and began reviewing cases involving officials, journalists, and others who alleged that they had been politically persecuted under the previous administration.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026
Many Marranos persecuted by the Inquisition did secretly maintain a Jewish identity.

— Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of persecuted

Verb

Garbage’s set was plagued by technical difficulties, but singer Shirley Manson kept her cool, joking that this was just the kind of thing the band was used to.

— Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 30 Aug. 2026
The research team identified opportunities to improve the atomic layer etching (ALE) approach, which offers significant advantages over the conventional methods but was plagued by difficulties for practical use.

— Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of plagued

Verb

Parts on Repkon machines deformed, leading a worker to discover that they were made with Chinese steel, possibly in violation of federal regulations.

— Jesse Coburn, ProPublica, 12 Aug. 2026
Many of the characters are deformed in some way, though Williams does not adopt the language of disability to describe their particular experiences.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 July 2026

Definition of deformed

Adjective

Each application is pre-tested and integrated into the platform to reduce deployment time and improve reliability for end users.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 31 July 2026
But summer back in New York, amid the fug of the city, requires a return to a tested and true formula.

— Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 22 June 2025

Definition of tested

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“Tortured.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tortured. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of tortured

adjective

verb

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