torturesome

noun

the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty.

a method of inflicting such pain.

Often, tortures. the pain or suffering caused or undergone.

extreme anguish of body or mind; agony.

a cause of severe pain or anguish.

verb (used with object)

to subject to torture.

to afflict with severe pain of body or mind: My back is torturing me.

to force or extort by torture: We'll torture the truth from his lips!

to twist, force, or bring into some unnatural position or form: trees tortured by storms.

10.

to distort or pervert (language, meaning, etc.).

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Torturesome is always a great word to know.

So is quincunx. Does it mean:

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

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Origin:
1530–40; < Late Latin tortūra a twisting, torment, torture. See tort, -ure

Related forms

tor·tur·a·ble, adjective

tor·tured·ly, adverb

tor·tur·er, noun

tor·ture·some, adjective

tor·tur·ing·ly, adverb

o·ver·tor·ture, verb (used with object), o·ver·tor·tured, o·ver·tor·tur·ing.

pre·tor·ture, noun, verb (used with object), pre·tor·tured, pre·tor·tur·ing.

self-tor·ture, noun

self-tor·tured, adjective

self-tor·tur·ing, adjective

un·tor·tured, adjective

Synonyms
6. See torment.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To torturesome

Collins

World English Dictionary

torture (ˈtɔːtʃə)

—vb
1.	to cause extreme physical pain to, esp in order to extract information, break resistance, etc: to torture prisoners
2.	to give mental anguish to
3.	to twist into a grotesque form

—n
4.	physical or mental anguish
5.	the practice of torturing a person
6.	a cause of mental agony or worry

[C16: from Late Latin tortūra a twisting, from torquēre to twist]

usage The adjective torturous is sometimes confused with tortuous. One speaks of a torturous experience, i.e. one that involves pain or suffering, but of a tortuous road, i.e. one that winds or twists

'tortured

—*adj*

'torturedly

—*adv*

'torturer

—n

'torturesome

—*adj*

'torturous

—*adj*

'torturing

—*adj*

'torturingly

—*adv*

'torturously

—*adv*

torture (ˈtɔːtʃə)

—vb
1.	to cause extreme physical pain to, esp in order to extract information, break resistance, etc: to torture prisoners
2.	to give mental anguish to
3.	to twist into a grotesque form

—n
4.	physical or mental anguish
5.	the practice of torturing a person
6.	a cause of mental agony or worry

[C16: from Late Latin tortūra a twisting, from torquēre to twist]

usage The adjective torturous is sometimes confused with tortuous. One speaks of a torturous experience, i.e. one that involves pain or suffering, but of a tortuous road, i.e. one that winds or twists

'tortured

—*adj*

'torturedly

—*adv*

'torturer

—n

'torturesome

—*adj*

'torturous

—*adj*

'torturing

—*adj*

'torturingly

—*adv*

'torturously

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

torture

c.1495 (implied in torturous), from M.Fr. torture "infliction of great pain, great pain, agony," from L.L. torture "a twisting, writhing, torture, torment," from stem of L. torquere "to twist, turn, wind, wring, distort" (see thwart). The verb is 1588, from the noun. Tortuous

"full of twists" is recorded from 1426.

Matching Quote

"I call demonic the restlessness which is innate and essential in every human being ... (that which) drives one beyond one's limits into the infinite, into the elemental, as though nature had left behind in every individual soul an inexpressible, restless part of its original chaos, a part that wants to return with tension and passion to the super-human super-sensual element. The demon embodies the ferment, that bubbling, torturesome, upsetting ferment, which urges an otherwise calm life to move in the direction of all that is dangerous, towards excesses, ecstasy, selfdenial, selfdestruction; in most human beings, in the mediocre, this precious but dangerous part of the soul is soon absorbed and consumed ... restrained human beings stifle the Faustian drive within them, chloroform it with morality, dull it with work, restrain it with orderliness; the middle class person is always the mortal enemy of the chaotic.... But in superior human beings, especially in those who are productive, creative restlessness prevails in the form of dissatisfaction with everyday accomplishments."

-Stefan Zweig

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Related Words

torture