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Dictionary

tor•ture

Pronunciation: (tôr'chur), [key]
—n., v., -tured, -tur•ing.

—n.
1. the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty.
2. a method of inflicting such pain.
3. Often, tortures. the pain or suffering caused or undergone.
4. extreme anguish of body or mind; agony.
5. a cause of severe pain or anguish.

—v.t.
1. to subject to torture.
2. to afflict with severe pain of body or mind: My back is torturing me.
3. to force or extort by torture: We'll torture the truth from his lips!
4. to twist, force, or bring into some unnatural position or form: trees tortured by storms.
5. to distort or pervert (language, meaning, etc.).

Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.

tortuous

torturous

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