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
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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
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3
as in demon
a source of persistent emotional distress
insomnia that was caused by a host of nighttime torments
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as in to plague
to cause persistent suffering to
he was tormented by nightmares about the accident
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of torment
Jon Paul Hoornstra, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
This time, Scott had a less metaphysical explanation for his torment.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 13 Sep. 2025
Carlie Procell, USA Today, 20 Dec. 2025
In the series’ end, Harry and his sometime school comrades and allied teachers and others, fight off said tormented self-loathing wizard as, simultaneously, fascistic muggles rise, opposing the mere existence of their kind.
—Literary Hub, 18 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for torment
Noun
Chavez faced his own share of torment.
—Verb
Perchta is known to torment people who didn’t properly celebrate the 12 days of Christmas.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for torment
Noun
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The dramatic arc of the film’s first half — filled with the ecstasy of God’s embrace and the agony of imprisonment — is told through musical numbers, adapted from the Shakers’ ecstatic worship, dance, hymns, and music (watch the video above to learn more).—
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One year before Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire published their compendium of Greek myths, Cicellis released her second work of fiction, The Way to Colonos, which ruthlessly dramatizes the limits of individual freedom and the agony of facing one’s powerlessness.—
Noun
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The plaintiff seeks damages for privacy invasion, emotional distress, reputational harm and alleged placement on government watch lists.—
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The initial wave of relief soon lifted, giving way to distress when Franco learned his home was uninhabitable.—
Noun
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Nas sounds hungry again, his dense, circular writing a tangle of flashbacks and evocative images of preachers rebuking demons and Yoda smoking blunts.—
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With the future of the family and the country at stake, Tommy must face his own demons, and choose whether to confront his legacy, or burn it to the ground.—
Verb
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And then stop the organizational dysfunction, which has plagued the team for years.—
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The program, plagued from the outset by cost overruns and delays, was paused by the ICC at the end of 2023 to conduct an investigation into the best path forward after the surcharge expired.—
Noun
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In the ‘Groundhog Day’-esque nightmare that never ends, the ‘urgent’ and ‘engaged’ Boston Red Sox are up a creek without a paddle, vessel, and excuse, having lost out on a top – and very sign-able – free-agent target once again.—
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This artistic decision shifts the focus from the battlefield to the psychological and bureaucratic nightmare faced by those desperately trying to orchestrate a rescue from hundreds of miles away.—
Noun
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So Skinny Pedro had experienced the pain of seeing his dream simultaneously realized and shattered.—
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Hannah tells the jury how the pain affected her.—
Noun
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Charles Manson had turned the hippie identity into one of night-stalking terror.—
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Last December, armed rebels previously aligned with terror groups finally ousted Assad from power after a 14 year civil war.—
Verb
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Open Doors is a global Christian charity supporting Christians persecuted for their faith.—
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Most commonly, people felt they were being persecuted via their electronics – that their Wi-Fi networks, computers or cellphones had been hacked or implanted with tracking devices.—
Cite this Entry
“Torment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torment. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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