tormented
/tɔːˈment/ (bre, ipa) · [tˈɔrmˌɛntɪd] /tɔːrˈment/ (ame, ipa) · [tˈɔrmˌɛntɪd] /ˈtȯr-ˌment How to pronounce torment (audio)/ (ame, mw)
tormented — verb
- tormentedpresent simple I / you / we / they
- tormenteds3rd person singular
- tormenteding-ing form
- tormentededpast simple
1. to make someone or an animal experience repeated physical or emotional pain, oft
to make someone or an animal experience repeated physical or emotional pain, often in a way that feels cruel or unfair
A group of older students tormented the new boy every day after school.
active voice: torment + direct object
Gabriel was tormented by guilt long after he told the lie.
passive: be tormented by [emotion]
The injured cat had been tormented by flies and needed help.
Eve tormented her little brother by hiding his favourite toy.
文法句型
torment + person/animal
be tormented by + something
用法筆記
Commonly used in passive voice with 'by' to show the cause of suffering. The subject causing torment can be a person, a situation, or an emotion.
常見錯誤
tormented — noun
1. a state of extreme physical or emotional pain that lasts for a long time and is
a state of extreme physical or emotional pain that lasts for a long time and is hard to bear
The family waited in torment for news of the missing hiker.
prepositional phrase: in torment
Trang could not describe the torment she felt after losing her home.
Years of emotional torment finally ended when she left the abusive relationship.
The pain from his back injury was constant torment that kept him awake at night.
文法句型
in torment
torment of + noun
用法筆記
Uncountable in the abstract sense — do not say 'a torment' when referring to the feeling of suffering itself. Countable uses belong to noun sense 2 (the cause of suffering).
常見錯誤
2. a person, situation, or thing that causes constant unhappiness or worry, as if t
a person, situation, or thing that causes constant unhappiness or worry, as if the suffering cannot be escaped
The loud construction work next door was a torment to the elderly couple.
pattern: a torment to + person
For Pedro, the unanswered question became a torment that haunted his thoughts.
Living with constant pain was a torment that slowly wore down her spirit.
The leaky roof was a daily torment for the family during the rainy season.
文法句型
a torment to + person
be a torment
用法筆記
Countable — usually appears as 'a torment' or 'the torment of + noun'. Use this sense when referring to the cause, not the feeling itself (for the feeling, use noun sense 1).