tormentor

/tɔːˈmentə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · [tˈɔrmˌɛntɚ] /tɔːrˈmentər/ (ame, ipa) · [tˈɔrmˌɛntɚ] /tȯr-ˈmen-tər How to pronounce tormentor (audio) ˈtȯr-ˌmen- How to pronounce tormentor (audio)/ (ame, mw)

tormentor — noun

  • tormentorsingular
  • tormentorsplural

1. a person who deliberately makes someone else suffer, either by causing them emot

1.名詞B2
釋義

a person who deliberately makes someone else suffer, either by causing them emotional distress, physical pain, or both, often in a repeated or sustained way

例句

The children told their teacher about their tormentor, a bully who stole their lunch money.

Yumi lived in fear of her tormentor, who sent threatening letters at all hours.

同義詞
  • bully

    more informal and specific to repeated aggressive behavior, especially among children or in school settings

  • persecutor

    more formal, often implies systematic oppression targeting someone's identity, beliefs, or background

  • torturer

    more specific, implies the deliberate infliction of physical pain, often in an official or institutional context

反義詞
  • protector

    someone who keeps another person safe from harm

  • defender

    someone who stands up for or defends another person against attack

用法筆記

Often used with possessive determiners (my, her, his, their) or in the phrase 'the tormentor of [someone]'. More common in formal or literary writing than in everyday conversation.

常見錯誤

❌The school has a problem with tormentors.
✅The school has a problem with bullies.
💡'tormentor' implies severe, ongoing suffering and is more formal; 'bully' is the everyday word for repeated aggressive behavior.
❌The prisoner's tormentor waterboarded him.
✅The prisoner's torturer waterboarded him.
💡'torturer' is the specific word for someone who inflicts physical torture in an institutional or systematic way; 'tormentor' is broader and includes emotional suffering.