Word
tortured
Phoneticstor·tured
US/ˈtɔɹtʃɝd/
UK/tˈɔːtʃəd/
Definitions
01suffering greatly
adj. feeling great physical or mental pain.
adj. subjected to intense physical or psychological suffering; often used to describe a person's expression or state of mind.
“The artist had a tortured look in his eyes as he spoke about his past.”
“The biographer spent years researching the poet's tortured existence, documenting the deep depressions that fueled his most famous works.”
02difficult and complicated
adj. very complicated and hard to follow, especially a story or an explanation.
adj. characterized by excessive complexity, lack of clarity, or forced effort; often applied to logic, prose, or artistic style.
“The lawyer gave a tortured explanation for why the money was missing.”
“Critics dismissed the film's tortured plot, arguing that the director had sacrificed narrative clarity for the sake of unnecessary symbolism.”
Formal
Usage
Often used to describe writing, logic, or reasoning that feels 'forced'.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Real-World Examples
“The two men who were tortured – Ahmed Soliman, 31, of Egypt, and Samson Birhane, 47, of Eritrea – have since been transferred to a prison in Malabo.” “They reopen to show the death of Jarfi who was tortured and killed by a group of men he met after leaving a gay bar.” Scan code
englishreference.com/q/tortured