torment

English

Etymology

From Old French torment, from Latin tormentum (“something operated by twisting”), from torquere (“to twist”).

Pronunciation

• (noun) (UK) IPA: /ˈtɔːmɛnt/, X-SAMPA: /"tO:mEnt/
• (verb) (UK) IPA: /tɔːˈmɛnt/, X-SAMPA: /tO:"mEnt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

torment (plural torments)

1. (obsolete) A catapult or other kind of war-engine.
2. Torture, originally as inflicted by an instrument of torture.
3. Any extreme pain, anguish or misery, either physical or mental.

   He was bitter from the torments of the insipid divorce system.

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:pain

Translations

extreme pain

• Arabic: تعذيب (ar) (taʿḏīb) m
• Armenian: չարչարանք (hy) (čʿarčʿarankʿ)
• Catalan: turment (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 苦痛 (cmn) (kǔtòng)

• Czech: utrpení (cs)
• Dalmatian: tormiant m
• Danish: smerte (da)
• Dutch: kwelling (nl)
• Esperanto: turmento (eo)
• Estonian: piin (et)
• Finnish: piina (fi), tuska (fi)
• French: tourment (fr) m
• Friulian: torment m
• German: Qual (de) f
• Greek: μαρτύριο (el) (martyrio)
• Hungarian: kín (hu)
• Icelandic: kvöl (is)

• Indonesian: azab (id), keazaban (id)
• Italian: cruccio (it) m, tormento (it) m
• Japanese: 苦痛 (ja) (くつう, kutsū)
• Korean: 고통 (ko) (gotong) (苦痛 (ko))
• Latin: cruciatus (la) m
• Latvian: mokas (lv)
• Lithuanian: kančia (lt)
• Norwegian: pine (no), kval (no), lidelse (no)
• Polish: męka (pl), udręka (pl) f
• Portuguese: tormento (pt)
• Romanian: chin (ro) n, turment (ro) n, zbucium (ro) n
• Russian: мучение (ru) (mučénije) n, мука (ru) (múka) f
• Sardinian: tormentu (sc), turmentu (sc), trumentu (sc), tromentu (sc)
• Slovak: utrpenie (sk)
• Slovene: muka (sl)
• Spanish: tormento (es)
• Swedish: plåga (sv), pina (sv), kval (sv)
• Turkish: şiddetli acı (tr), azap (tr)

Verb

torment (third-person singular simple present torments, present participle tormenting, simple past and past participle tormented)

1. (transitive) To cause severe suffering to (stronger than to vex but weaker than to torture.)

   The child tormented the flies by pulling their wings off.

Derived terms

• tormentor

Translations

to cause severe suffering

• Arabic: عزّب (ar) (ʿazzaba)
• Catalan: turmentar (ca)
• Dutch: kwellen (nl)
• Esperanto: turmenti (eo)
• Finnish: piinata (fi)
• German: quälen (de)
• Indonesian: menghantui (id), mengazab (id)

• Italian: tormentare (it)
• Polish: męczyć (pl), nękać (pl), trapić (pl)
• Portuguese: judiar (pt), maltratar (pt), atormentar (pt)
• Romanian: chinui (ro), tortura (ro)
• Russian: мучить (ru) (múčitʹ), истязать (ru) (istjazátʹ)
• Spanish: atormentar (es)
• Swedish: plåga (sv), pina (sv)

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Middle English

Etymology

Old French torment, from Latin tormentum

Noun

torment (plural torments)

1. torment (suffering, pain)

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Middle French

Etymology

Old French torment, from Latin tormentum.

Noun

torment m (plural torments)

1. torment; suffering; anguish

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Old French

Noun

torment m (oblique plural tormenz, nominative singular tormenz, nominative plural torment)

1. torture
   • Et Ewruins, cil Deu mentiz Que lui [Lethgier] a grand torment occist
2. (figuratively, by extension) suffering; torment

References

• "tourment" in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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Old Provençal

Noun

torment m (nominative singular torments)

1. suffering; torment