1. (n.) Extreme pain; anguish of body or mind; pang; agony; torment; as, torture of mind.

2. (n.) Especially, severe pain inflicted judicially, either as punishment for a crime, or for the purpose of extorting a confession from an accused person, as by water or fire, by the boot or thumbkin, or by the rack or wheel.

3. (n.) The act or process of torturing.

4. (v. t.) To put to torture; to pain extremely; to harass; to vex.

5. (v. t.) To punish with torture; to put to the rack; as, to torture an accused person.

6. (v. t.) To wrest from the proper meaning; to distort.

7. (v. t.) To keep on the stretch, as a bow.

Procrustean bed abuse afflict aggrieve agonize agonizingness agony ail anguish atrocious pain bed of Procrustes befoul bewitch bias bite blight bloody boot burn chafe claw clawing color condemn confinement contort convulse corrupt cruciation crucifixion crucify curse cut damage defile deprave desolate desolateness desolation despoil destroy disadvantage dismember dismemberment disserve distort distress do a mischief do evil do ill do wrong do wrong by doom draw and quarter envenom estrapade excruciate excruciatingness excruciation fester fret gall galleys garble get into trouble get one wrong get wrong give pain gloss gnaw grate grill grind gripe harass hard labor harm harrow heartbreak heartsickness hell hell upon earth hex holocaust horror hurt impair impale impalement imprisonment incarceration infect inflame inflict pain injure iron heel irritate jailing jinx keelhaul keelhauling kill by inches lacerate laceration lancinate lancination macerate maim maltreat mangle martyr martyrdom martyrization martyrize menace misapply misapprehend miscite misconceive misconstrue misdeem misdirect misexplain misexplicate misexpound misinterpret misjudge misquote misread misrender misrepresent misshape mistake mistranslate mistreat misunderstand misuse molest mutilate nightmare nip oppress outrage pain passion penal servitude persecute persecution pervert picket picketing pierce pinch play havoc with play hob with poison pollute prejudice prick prolong the agony punish purgatory put to torture rack railriding rankle rasp rip rock pile rub savage scarify scarpines scathe screw slant smite squeeze stab sting strain strain the sense strappado taint tar and feather tar-and-feathering the gantlet threaten thumbscrew torment tormentingness torturousness try tweak twist twist the words varnish violate warp wheel wind wound wreak havoc on wrench wring wrong