# torture

Pronunciation: US say "TOR-chur" /ˈtoɹt͡ʃɚ/; UK say "TAW-chuh" /ˈtɔːt͡ʃə(ɹ)/

## Noun

1. The deliberate infliction of severe pain or anguish, especially as a means of interrogation or punishment; in the plural, the methods or devices designed to cause it.
   - Simple: The act of causing someone great pain on purpose, often to punish them or to force them to talk.
   - _The report documented the use of torture in the country's prisons._
   - _Confessions obtained through torture are inadmissible in most courts._
3. Severe pain or anguish, whether of the body or of the mind.
   - Simple: Very strong pain or suffering, in the body or the mind.
   - _The migraine brought a torture that kept him awake all night._
   - _The endless noise was sheer torture for the patients trying to rest._
4. An unpleasant sensation, or the causing of it, such as embarrassment or heartache.
   - Simple: A feeling that is very unpleasant or uncomfortable, like embarrassment or heartache.
   - _Waiting to hear whether she got the job was absolute torture._
   - _Watching his favorite team lose by one point was torture._

## Verb

2. To deliberately inflict severe pain or suffering on someone, usually to force a confession or to punish them.
   - Simple: To hurt someone very badly on purpose, often to punish them or to make them tell something.
   - _The regime tortured dissidents to silence its opposition._
   - _Interrogators may torture suspects in hopes of forcing a confession._

## Origin

This word came through Middle English and Old French from Late Latin tortūra ("a twisting, or bodily pain"), which in Medieval Latin meant pain inflicted by authorities to force confessions. It goes back to Latin tortus, the past participle of torquēre ("to twist").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/torture (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).