Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

torment

/ˈtɔː(ɹ)mɛnt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.36 in modern English

Syllables: tor-ment
IPA: /ˈtɔː(ɹ)mɛnt/

9

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A catapult or other kind of war-engine.

Countable; Obsolete; Uncountable

noun

Torture, originally as inflicted by an instrument of torture.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Any extreme pain, anguish or misery, either physical or mental.

Countable; Uncountable

verb

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

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"I've gone through living torment."
"He behaved bitter from the torments of the divorce."
"They brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments."
"The child tormented the flies by pulling their wings off."
"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."
"But the divine children were both noisy and mischievous. They tormented their venerable grandmother with their shrill uproar and tricky behaviour."

Etymology

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

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *terkʷ-, torment, tormentum

Usage

Inflected Forms

torments (plural) torments (present, singular) tormenting (participle, present) tormented (participle, past) tormented (past)

Derived Forms

tormentful tormentless tormentous tormentry tormentuous tormentable tormentor

Frequently Paired Words

torture

Synonyms

misery pain wark anguish rend difficulty distress grief hardship smart torment torture

Rhymes With

self-torment went event present sent percent spent content meant cent prevent rent

Questions

How do you pronounce torment?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtɔː(ɹ)mɛnt/.
What does torment mean?: A catapult or other kind of war-engine.
Where does torment come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce torment

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “torment”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈtɔː(ɹ)mɛnt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “torment”.
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