torture
See also: torturé
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English torture, from Old French torture, from Late Latin tortūra (“a twisting, writhing, of bodily pain, a griping colic;” in Medieval Latin “pain inflicted by judicial or ecclesiastical authority as a means of persuasion, torture”), from Latin tortus (whence also tort), past participle of torquēre (“to twist”).
PronunciationEdit
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈtɔɹt͡ʃɚ/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈtɔːt͡ʃə(ɹ)/
- Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)tʃə(ɹ)
Audio (US) (file) - Homophone: torcher
- Hyphenation: tor‧ture
NounEdit
torture (countable and uncountable, plural tortures)
- The intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony.
- 2014 January 1, Claire Kramsch, “Language and Culture”, in AILA Review[1], volume 27, number 5, John Benjamins, DOI: , ISSN 1461-0213, page 35:
- If Cheney calls it enhanced interrogation, he argues, this still doesn’t change the meaning of the word torture, which Cheney and the public know perfectly well. But cognitive linguists like Lakoff (1996) remind us that the public can be manipulated into believing that torture is “merely” an enhanced interrogation technique and thus does not protest.
- 2015 November 30, Shane O'Mara, Why Torture Doesn’t Work: The Neuroscience of Interrogation[2], Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 12:
- Santorum, in a comment regarding Senator John McCain's repudiation of torture, stated, "He doesn't understand how enhanced interrogation works. I mean, you break somebody, and after they've broken they become cooperative" (Summers 2011).
- Using large dogs to attack bound, hand-cuffed prisoners is clearly torture.
- In every war there are acts of torture that cause the world to shudder.
- Synonym: enhanced interrogation techniques
- (chiefly literary) The "suffering of the heart" imposed by one on another, as in personal relationships.
- Every time she says 'goodbye' it is torture!
- Coventry City midfielder Josh Ruffels described his 11 months out injured as 'absolute torture' after the goalless draw with Derby County Under-21s. ([3])
- (colloquial) (often as "absolute torture") Stage fright; severe embarrassment.
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
intentional causing of somebody's experiencing agony
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"suffering of heart" imposed by one on another, in personal relationships
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
VerbEdit
torture (third-person singular simple present tortures, present participle torturing, simple past and past participle tortured)
- (transitive) To intentionally inflict severe pain or suffering on (someone).
- People who torture often have sadistic tendencies.
- In the aftermath of 9/11, we did some things that were wrong. We did a whole lot of things that were right, but, we tortured some folks. We did some things that were contrary to our values.
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
to intentionally inflict unnecessary pain or suffering on helpless victims
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Further readingEdit
- torture in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- torture in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- torture at OneLook Dictionary Search
AnagramsEdit
AsturianEdit
VerbEdit
torture
FrenchEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Late Latin tortūra, from Latin tortus, from torqueō.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
torture f (plural tortures)
- torture
- 1837, Louis Viardot, L’Ingénieux Hidalgo Don Quichotte de la Manchefr.Wikisource, translation of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Volume I, Chapter I:
- Avec ces propos et d’autres semblables, le pauvre gentilhomme perdait le jugement. Il passait les nuits et se donnait la torture pour les comprendre, pour les approfondir, pour leur tirer le sens des entrailles, ce qu’Aristote lui-même n’aurait pu faire, s’il fût ressuscité tout exprès pour cela.
- With these passages and other similar ones, the poor gentleman lost his judgement. He spent his nights and gave himself torture to understand them, to consider them more deeply, to take from them their deepest meaning, which Aristotle himself would not have been able to do, had he been resurrected for that very purpose.
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
- → Swedish: tortyr c
VerbEdit
torture
- inflection of torturer:
Further readingEdit
- “torture”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
ItalianEdit
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
torture f
AnagramsEdit
LatinEdit
PronunciationEdit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /torˈtuː.re/, [t̪ɔrˈt̪uːrɛ]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /torˈtu.re/, [t̪orˈt̪uːre]
ParticipleEdit
tortūre
PortugueseEdit
PronunciationEdit
- Hyphenation: tor‧tu‧re
VerbEdit
torture
- inflection of torturar:
SpanishEdit
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
torture
- inflection of torturar: