torment
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Any extreme pain, anguish or misery, either physical or mental.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
tawrmentSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtɔɹmɛnt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Any extreme pain, anguish or misery, either physical or mental.
Unbearable physical pain
Extreme mental distress
Torture, originally as inflicted by an instrument of torture.
verb
Subject to torture
“The sinners will be tormented in Hell, according to the Bible.”
transitive
To cause severe suffering to (stronger than to vex but weaker than to torture.)
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Any extreme pain, anguish or misery, either physical or mental.
Used this way, torment is a reasonably familiar word carrying real weight of difficulty or hurt. It lands hard, so it overstates anything mild. It turns up most in personal or emotional discussion and literature or storytelling contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Strongly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Very strong
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Strongly negative / painful
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Where it naturally appears
- Personal/emotional discussion
- Literature/storytelling
Usage note
Torment is emotionally heavy: it suggests deep or lasting feeling, not a passing mood, so it can overstate a small reaction.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use torment
- “The sinners will be tormented in Hell, according to the Bible.”verb
- “The children tormented the stuttering teacher.”verb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “torment” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.