Definition

1. Noun:

   • Severe physical or mental suffering: "Torment" refers to extreme pain, anguish, or distress, whether physical or psychological.
   • A source of such suffering: "Torment" can also refer to a person, situation, or thing that causes intense suffering or annoyance.
   • The act of inflicting such suffering: "Torment" can mean the action of harassing, torturing, or causing severe distress to someone.

2. Verb:

   • To cause severe physical or mental suffering: To "torment" someone means to inflict intense pain, anguish, or distress upon them.
   • To annoy, tease, or harass persistently: To "torment" can also mean to pester, bother, or provoke someone repeatedly, causing mental distress.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The patient was in constant torment from the chronic pain. (The patient experienced continuous severe suffering.)
  • His guilt over the mistake was a constant torment. (His feeling of guilt was a persistent source of mental anguish.)
  • The bully was the main torment of the younger students. (The bully was the primary source of harassment for the younger students.)

• Verb:

  • The memory of his failure tormented him for years. (The memory caused him prolonged mental suffering.)
  • Stop tormenting your little sister with those scary stories! (Stop harassing or frightening your sister persistently.)

Advanced Usage

• "To be a torment to someone": to be a constant source of annoyance or suffering for someone.

  • The noisy construction next door was a torment to the residents. (The noise was a persistent source of distress.)

• "The torments of...": used to describe the intense sufferings associated with a particular condition or situation.

  • She wrote about the torments of unrequited love. (She described the intense pains of loving someone who does not love you back.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tormentor/Tormenter (noun): a person who inflicts torment or harassment.
  • He finally stood up to his childhood tormentor.
• Tormented (adjective): suffering or characterized by severe mental or physical distress.
  • The artist had a tormented soul.
• Tormenting (adjective): causing torment.
  • He asked the tormenting question again.

Synonyms

• Noun (suffering): Agony, anguish, torture, misery, distress.
• Noun (source): Affliction, scourge, plague, curse.
• Verb (to cause suffering): Torture, afflict, plague, harrow.
• Verb (to harass): Tease, pester, harass, bedevil, bully.

Related Phrases

• "Torment oneself": to cause oneself mental anguish, often by dwelling on negative thoughts.
  • Don't torment yourself over what you cannot change.
• "Instrument of torment": a tool or means used to inflict suffering.
  • The rack was a medieval instrument of torment.

Related Idioms

• "A living torment": a situation or existence that is a constant source of misery.
  • After the accident, his life became a living torment.
• "Add to someone's torment": to make someone's suffering even worse.
  • His insensitive comments only added to her torment.

Noun

1. the act of harassing someone
2. a severe affliction
3. a feeling of intense annoyance caused by being tormented
   • so great was his harassment that he wanted to destroy his tormentors
4. intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain
   • an agony of doubt
   • the torments of the damned
5. extreme mental distress
6. unbearable physical pain

Verb

1. subject to torture
   • The sinners will be tormented in Hell, according to the Bible
2. treat cruelly
   • The children tormented the stuttering teacher
3. torment emotionally or mentally