tortured

1. 1
   adjective

   Hurt very badly on purpose, in body or mind, by another person.

   Like an animal that has been hurt again and again on purpose.

   The tortured prisoner could barely lift his head.

   Doctors examined the tortured captives for lasting injuries.

   Similartormented, abused

   Note
2. 2
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of torture. Use this form when the hurting already happened.

   The soldiers tortured their captives for information.

   He was tortured during the war and never spoke of it.

   Note
3. 3
   adjective

   Full of suffering, struggle, and hard times.

   They had a tortured friendship full of fights and tears.

   The country has a tortured history of war, hunger, and loss.

   Similartroubled, tormented, painful, difficult

   Oppositeuntroubled, smooth

4. 4
   adjective

   Describes writing that is so overly complicated it is hard to read.

   Like a path that twists so much you get lost instead of reaching the end.

   The textbook's tortured sentences made the topic hard to understand.

   His essay was so tortured that no one could follow the point.

   Similarconvoluted, labored, strained, contorted, tortuous

   Oppositeclear, lucid, simple, straightforward

   Note

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