torture

/ˈtɔːtʃə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈtɔːrtʃər/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈtȯr-chər/ (ame, mw) · /ˈtɔː.tʃər/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈtɔːr.tʃɚ/ (ame, ipa)

torture — 名詞

  • torturesingular
  • torturesplural

1. the act of deliberately making someone endure extreme bodily or emotional agony,

1.名詞B2
釋義

酷刑

為逼供或懲罰而施加的極端痛苦

the act of deliberately making someone endure extreme bodily or emotional agony, often to extract a confession, obtain information, or inflict punishment

例句

The court ruled that the prisoners had been subjected to torture during their detention.

法院裁定，這些囚犯在拘留期間曾遭受酷刑。

passive: subjected to torture

International law absolutely forbids the use of torture under any circumstances, even in wartime.

國際法明文禁止在任何情況下使用酷刑，即使在戰爭時期也不例外。

collocation: use of torture / under any circumstances

同義詞
  • brutality

    broader — covers any cruel or violent treatment, not specifically aimed at forcing information

  • cruelty

    focuses on the infliction of suffering itself, without the specific purpose of coercion

  • persecution

    systematic mistreatment of a group based on identity, not necessarily physical pain for information

文法句型

subjected to torture

under torture

torture of [person]

用法筆記

Frequently appears in legal and human-rights discourse. The phrase 'under torture' describes the conditions in which a statement was obtained (e.g. 'a confession made under torture').

常見錯誤

❌The guards used torture to make the prisoner talk.' (correct but incomplete precision)
✅The guards used torture methods to extract information from the prisoner.
💡'extract information' is the standard collocation for the purpose of torture.

2. something that is extremely unpleasant or difficult to deal with, often used to

2.名詞B1
釋義

折磨

極度難受的經歷或情況

something that is extremely unpleasant or difficult to deal with, often used to describe a situation that feels almost unbearable

例句

Waiting for the test results was pure torture for Tanvi and her family.

等待考試結果出來，對 Tanvi 和她的家人來說簡直是折磨。

Manuela said the four-hour meeting with no break was absolute torture.

Manuela 說那場四個小時沒有休息的會議簡直是徹頭徹尾的折磨。

collocation: absolute torture

同義詞
  • agony

    stronger emotional charge; less informal than 'torture' in this sense

  • nightmare

    metaphorical like torture, but suggests fear or chaos rather than boredom or impatience

  • ordeal

    more formal and serious; a difficult experience but not necessarily unbearable

反義詞

文法句型

be torture

pure/absolute torture

torture to [infinitive]

用法筆記

This is a figurative, informal sense. It does NOT describe actual physical pain — use it for everyday frustrations and annoyances. Distinguish from sense 1, which refers to literal suffering or its threat.

常見錯誤

❌The surgery was torture.' (unclear — could be literal pain)
✅Waiting for the surgery results was absolute torture.
💡the figurative sense works best with waiting, sitting, listening — situations of enforced passiveness, not physical procedures.

3. the deliberate twisting of words, facts, or arguments so that they appear to mea

3.名詞C1
釋義

曲解

故意扭曲原意或論點

the deliberate twisting of words, facts, or arguments so that they appear to mean something very different from what was originally intended

例句

The lawyer's torture of the witness's statement reversed its intended meaning.

律師對證人陳述的曲解，完全顛覆了其原本的意思。

Critics accused the journalist of a verbal torture of the politician's speech.

評論家指責該記者對政治人物的演講進行了文字曲解。

collocation: verbal torture

同義詞
  • distortion

    more common and less harsh in tone; the standard term for twisting meaning

  • misrepresentation

    focuses on the false picture created, not the act of twisting

  • warping

    suggests a gradual or organic change rather than deliberate action

文法句型

torture of [something]

verbal torture

a torture of [text/argument]

用法筆記

Uncommon in everyday speech. Mostly found in legal, rhetorical, or literary criticism writing when someone wants to accuse an interpreter of bad faith. The phrase 'a torture of [something]' is the most typical pattern.

torture — 動詞