1
as in agony
a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness
the released soldiers gave interviews trying to explain to civilians the torment that prisoners of war experience
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in distress
a state of great suffering of body or mind
was in torment for weeks after he broke up with his girlfriend
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to plague
to cause persistent suffering to
he was tormented by nightmares about the accident
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of torment
Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 8 May 2025
Connors redefines his mission, which results in a personal transformation to ultimately escape the torment of a never-ending Groundhog Day.
—Michael Hicks, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025
Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2025
Now the team does as well. Tipoff Wednesday night marked the halfway point for the Knicks’ quest to cleanse Madison Square Garden of the curse that has tormented it for five decades.
—Kyle Wagner, New York Daily News, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for torment
Noun
Blinded by love, Hilmi doesn’t see the torment Leyla’s new stepmother inflicts on her, turning their home into a living nightmare.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 8 May 2025
Connors redefines his mission, which results in a personal transformation to ultimately escape the torment of a never-ending Groundhog Day.
—Michael Hicks, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025
Verb
However, the emphasis is less on any ultimate hookup than on how the distinct pressures of the ivory tower can torment and even destroy its inhabitants.
—Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2025
Now the team does as well. Tipoff Wednesday night marked the halfway point for the Knicks’ quest to cleanse Madison Square Garden of the curse that has tormented it for five decades.
—Kyle Wagner, New York Daily News, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for torment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for torment
Noun
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And that gave him some kind of legitimacy after 40 years of agony, derided by the music press.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
11 June 2025
-
For more than a year, the Perry family waited in agony for answers.—
Christina Coulter,
People.com,
7 June 2025
Noun
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The report highlights research on young adults that shows that trans students who participate in collegiate sports are less likely to experience distress, self-harm and suicidal thoughts.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
6 June 2025
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That places an onerous burden on Henson, doing her considerable best trying to sustain a role whose Job-like travails crank the distress level to 11 too soon.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
6 June 2025
Noun
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The trailer certainly paints a trippy picture of a high-tech near-future that veers into nightmare territory, as so many games in the Black Ops franchise tend to do, slipping between missions in the real-world and a psychedelic dream-world filled with demons and other nightmares.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
8 June 2025
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Months before, Stevens feared President Johnson was pursuing a Reconstruction program that would readmit Confederate states to the Union without them exorcising the demon that animated secession.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 June 2025
Verb
-
The wallet aims to solve cross-border payment challenges that have long plagued African creators.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
5 June 2025
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Inside a Palm Beach County courtroom, Judge Kathleen Kroll is trying to tackle a problem that has plagued Florida schools in recent years: An alarming number of students aren’t showing up for school.—
Scott Travis,
Sun Sentinel,
5 June 2025
Noun
-
For rule-followers like me, the prankster types were a nightmare.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
People.com,
7 June 2025
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Left-hander Reid Detmers, whose three-game nightmare stretch a month ago began with a game in Seattle, struck out two in a scoreless inning, including Mariners star Cal Raleigh.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
7 June 2025
Noun
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Installing them for every site that offered them could be a pain, though.—
Ryan Whitwam,
ArsTechnica,
13 June 2025
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Anderson is seeking $25,000 in damages for emotional distress, mental anguish, funeral and medical expenses, pain, and suffering, records show.—
Kennedy Sessions,
Kansas City Star,
13 June 2025
Noun
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The trauma of that day continued to reverberate in Jewish communities across the globe, recently reignited by a violent terror attack at a sister rally in Boulder, Colorado.—
Garrett Shanley,
Miami Herald,
8 June 2025
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The president said on X the travel ban was being introduced after a terror attack against a pro-Israel group advocating for Hamas to release Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado, last weekend, allegedly by an Egyptian man who had overstayed his visa.—
Paul Tilsley,
FOXNews.com,
8 June 2025
Verb
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In 1968 a Jewish Dutch woman named Selma Vos was persecuted to death along with her husband, Cao Richang, an eminent psychologist who had helped found the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.—
Nan Z. Da
June 10,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2025
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Abrego Garcia was subject to a 2019 withholding order by a judge forbidding his removal to El Salvador because of concerns he would be persecuted there.—
Dan Mangan,
CNBC,
6 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Torment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torment. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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