torment

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (noun) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔː(ɹ)mɛnt/, /ˈtɔː(ɹ)mənt/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• (verb) IPA^(key): /tɔː(ɹ)ˈmɛnt/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -ɛnt

Noun

torment (countable and uncountable, 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 divorce.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 4:24:

     They brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:pain

Derived terms

• tormentous

Translations

extreme pain

• Albanian: vuajtje (sq) f
• Arabic: عَذَاب m (ʕaḏāb)
• Armenian: չարչարանք (hy) (čʻarčʻarankʻ)
• Avar: гӏазаб (ʻazab)
• Azerbaijani: əzab (az), işgəncə (az)
• Belarusian: паку́та f (pakúta), му́ка f (múka)
• Bulgarian: мъ́ка (bg) f (mǎ́ka), изтеза́ние (bg) n (iztezánie)
• Catalan: turment (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 苦痛 (zh) (kǔtòng)

• Czech: utrpení (cs), mučení n, muka (cs), soužení n, trýzeň (cs) f
• Dalmatian: tormiant m
• Danish: smerte (da)
• Dutch: kwelling (nl)
• Esperanto: turmento
• Estonian: piin
• Finnish: piina (fi), tuska (fi)
• French: tourment (fr) m
• Friulian: torment m
• Galician: tormento m
• Georgian: წვალება (c̣valeba)
• German: Qual (de) f
• Gothic: 𐍅𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍃 f (wunns)
• Greek: μαρτύριο (el) (martýrio)
• Higaonon: sakit
• Hindi: यातना (hi) f (yātnā), पीड़ा (hi) f (pīṛā), कष्ट (hi) m (kaṣṭ)
• Hungarian: kín (hu)
• Icelandic: kvöl (is)
• Ido: tormento (io)
• Indonesian: azab (id), keazaban
• Irish: crá m, céasadh m, ciapadh m, crá croí m
• Italian: cruccio (it) m, tormento (it) m, tarlo (it) m
• Japanese: 苦痛 (ja) (くつう, kutsū)
• Kazakh: азап (azap)
• Korean: 고통(苦痛) (ko) (gotong)
• Kyrgyz: азап (ky) (azap)
• Latin: cruciatus m
• Latvian: mokas m
• Lithuanian: kančia f
• Macedonian: мака f (maka)
• Malay: azab
• Manx: angaaish m
• Norwegian: pine (no), kval (no), lidelse (no)
• Pashto: عذاب (ps) m (azãb)
• Persian: عذاب (fa) ('azâb), شکنجه (fa) (šekanje)
• Plautdietsch: Kjwal f
• Polish: męka (pl), udręka (pl) f, cierpienie (pl) n
• Portuguese: tormento (pt)
• Romanian: chin (ro) n, turment n, zbucium (ro) n
• Russian: муче́ние (ru) n (mučénije), му́ка (ru) f (múka), истяза́ние (ru) n (istjazánije)
• Sardinian: tormentu, turmentu, trumentu, tromentu
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: па̀тња f, му̏ка f

  Roman: pàtnja (sh) f, mȕka (sh) f

• Slovak: utrpenie n, muka f
• Slovene: muka f, mučenje n
• Spanish: tormento (es)
• Swedish: plåga (sv), pina (sv), kval (sv)
• Tajik: азоб (tg) (azob)
• Tatar: азап (tt) (azap)
• Tocharian B: krāso
• Turkish: şiddetli acı, azap (tr), işkence (tr)
• Turkmen: azap (tk)
• Ukrainian: стражда́ння n (straždánnja), му́ка f (múka)
• Uyghur: ئازاب (azab)
• Uzbek: azob (uz)

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.

   • 2013 September 22, Phil McNulty, “Man City 4-1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Moyes, who never won a derby at Liverpool in 11 years as Everton manager, did not find the Etihad any more forgiving as City picked United apart in midfield, where Toure looked in a different class to United's £27.5m new boy Marouane Fellaini, and in defence as Aguero tormented Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand.

   • 1913, Lewis Spence, chapter V, in The Myths of Mexico and Peru‎^[2]:

     But the divine children were both noisy and mischievous. They tormented their venerable grandmother with their shrill uproar and tricky behaviour.

Derived terms

• tormentor

Translations

to cause severe suffering

• Arabic: عَذَّبَ (ʕaḏḏaba)
• Armenian: չարչարել (hy) (čʻarčʻarel)
• Azerbaijani: əzmək (az)
• Bulgarian: измъчвам (bg) (izmǎčvam)
• Catalan: turmentar (ca)
• Czech: trýznit, soužit (cs)
• Dutch: kwellen (nl), pijnigen (nl)
• Esperanto: turmenti (eo)
• Finnish: piinata (fi)
• French: tourmenter (fr)
• Galician: atormentar (gl)
• German: quälen (de), peinigen (de)
• Gothic: 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐍅𐌾𐌰𐌽 (balwjan)
• Greek: βασανίζω (el) (vasanízo)

  Ancient: βασανίζω (basanízō)

• Ido: tenaliagar (io), tormentar (io)
• Indonesian: menghantui (id), mengazab (id)
• Irish: cráigh, ciap, céas, páisigh
• Italian: tormentare (it), martoriare (it), torturare (it), affliggere (it), angustiare (it)
• Japanese: 苦しめる (ja) (くるしめる, kurushimeru), 苛む (ja) (さいなむ, sainamu)
• Latin: torqueō, macero
• Lithuanian: kankinti
• Maori: whakatīwheta
• Middle English: gripen, grippen
• Persian: آزار دادن (fa)
• Plautdietsch: kjwälen
• Polish: męczyć (pl), nękać (pl), trapić (pl)
• Portuguese: judiar (pt), maltratar (pt), atormentar (pt)
• Romanian: chinui (ro), tortura (ro)
• Russian: му́чить (ru) (múčitʹ), истяза́ть (ru) (istjazátʹ)
• Sanskrit: लुम्बति (sa) (lumbati), क्लिश्नाति (sa) (kliśnāti)
• Slovene: mučiti (sl)
• Spanish: atormentar (es)
• Swahili: kutesa (sw)
• Swedish: plåga (sv), pina (sv)
• Turkish: acı çektirmek, çile çektirmek

Middle English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French torment, from Latin tormentum.

Noun

torment (plural torments)

1. torment (suffering, pain)

Descendants

• English: torment

Middle French

Alternative forms

• tourment

Etymology

From Old French torment, from Latin tormentum.

Noun

torment m (plural torments)

1. torment; suffering; anguish

Old French

Alternative forms

• turment

Etymology

From Latin tormentum.

Noun

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

1. torture
   • 13th century, Unknown, La Vie de Saint Laurent, page 11, column 1, line 19:

     Saint Lorenz dit torment ne dot

     Saint Laurence says he doesn't fear torture

2. (figuratively, by extension) suffering; torment

Descendants

• Middle English: torment (borrowing)
  • English: torment
• Middle French: torment, tourment
  • French: tourment

References

• Etymology and history of “tourment”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Old Occitan

Etymology

From Latin tormentum.

Noun

torment m (nominative singular torments)

1. suffering; torment

Descendants

• Occitan: torment