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torture

To torture is to torment or purposefully put someone through intense pain or agony.

The word torture comes from the word for "harm." It can refer to the deliberate infliction of physical or mental suffering in order to punish or obtain information; the act of distorting something, so it means something it wasn't intended to mean; or extreme mental distress or unbearable physical pain not necessarily inflicted by another.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: torture

1	n v	the deliberate, systematic, or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering by one or more persons in an attempt to force another person to yield information or to make a confession or for any other reason subject to torture
2	n	the act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: torture

n the deliberate, systematic, or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering by one or more persons in an attempt to force another person to yield information or to make a confession or for any other reason

“it required unnatural torturing to extract a confession”

Synonyms:: torturing

Types:: show 17 types...; hide 17 types...; bastinado, falanga
a form of torture in which the soles of the feet are beaten with whips or cudgels; boot
a form of foot torture in which the feet are encased in iron and slowly crushed; burning
a form of torture in which cigarettes or cigars or other hot implements are used to burn the victim's skin; crucifixion, excruciation
the infliction of extremely painful punishment or suffering; genital torture
blunt or penetrating trauma or rape (vaginal or anal); judicial torture
torture that is sanctioned by the state and executed by duly accredited officials; kia quen
a form of foot torture used by the Chinese in which the victim's foot was placed between three pieces of bamboo and systematically squeezed; kittee
a form of torture used by American Indians in which sensitive parts of the body were squeezed between two boards until the victim could bear no more; nail pulling, nail removal
a form of torture in which the fingernails or toenails are removed; picket, piquet
a form of military punishment used by the British in the late 17th century in which a soldier was forced to stand on one foot on a pointed stake; prolonged interrogation
a form of psychological torture inflicted by questioning the victim for hours; rack
a form of torture in which pain is inflicted by stretching the body; sensory deprivation
a form of psychological torture inflicted by depriving the victim of all sensory input; sleep deprivation
a form of psychological torture inflicted by depriving the victim of sleep; strapado, strappado
a form of torture in which the hands are tied behind a person's back and they are lifted off the ground by a rope tied to their wrists, then allowed to drop until their fall is checked with a jerk by the rope; electric shock
the use of electricity to administer punishment or torture; dismemberment, taking apart
the removal of limbs; being cut to pieces