tor·ture, v. t. [imp. & p. p. tortured p. pr. & vb. n. tTorturing.]
1. To put to torture; to pain extremely; to harass; to vex.
2. To punish with torture; to put to the rack; as, to torture an accused person.
3. To wrest from the proper meaning; to distort.
4. To keep on the stretch, as a bow. [Obs.]
The bow tortureth the string. --Bacon.
◄ ►
tortured
adj 1: subjected to intense pain; "hundreds of tortured prisoners"
2: experiencing intense pain especially mental pain; "an
anguished conscience"; "a small tormented schoolboy"; "a
tortured witness to another's humiliation" [syn: anguished,
tormented]