noun / verb
torment
TOR-ment/ˈtɔːrment/
Severe physical or mental distress.
The worried adult sits in torment, head in hands.
Etymology
The twisting root connects suffering with instruments of torture, especially the rack. Latin tormentum already extended from such instruments to anguish and pain, giving the word its physical and mental senses.
In context
there is no respite from the torment the relief from the pain you descend ever further
More examples
- The memory tormented him.
- She endured months of mental torment.
- The uncertainty is tormenting the family.
Forms
torment · torments · tormented · tormenting
Similar words
- anguish
- Anguish especially suggests severe emotional suffering.
- torture
- Torture often implies deliberate infliction of suffering.