torture

Etymology

From Middle English torture, from Old French torture, from Late Latin tortūra (“a twisting, writhing, of bodily pain, a griping colic;” in Medieval Latin “pain inflicted by judicial or ecclesiastical authority as a means of persuasion, torture”), from Latin tortus (whence also tort), past participle of torquēre (“to twist”).

noun

1. The intentional causing of somebody's experiencing of agony, usually as an interrogation technique or punishment.
   If Cheney calls it enhanced interrogation, he argues, this still doesn’t change the meaning of the word torture, which Cheney and the public know perfectly well. But cognitive linguists like Lakoff (1996) remind us that the public can be manipulated into believing that torture is “merely” an enhanced interrogation technique and thus does not protest. January 2014, Claire Kramsch, “Language and Culture”, in AILA Review, volume 27, number 5, John Benjamins, →DOI, →ISSN, page 35
   Santorum, in a comment regarding Senator John McCain's repudiation of torture, stated, "He doesn't understand how enhanced interrogation works. I mean, you break somebody, and after they've broken they become cooperative" (Summers 2011). 30 November 2015, Shane O'Mara, Why Torture Doesn’t Work: The Neuroscience of Interrogation, Harvard University Press, page 12
   Using large dogs to attack bound, hand-cuffed prisoners is clearly torture.
   In every war there are acts of torture that cause the world to shudder.
   People confess to anything under torture.
2. (chiefly literary) The "suffering of the heart" imposed by one on another, as in personal relationships.
   Every time she says 'goodbye' it is torture!
   Coventry City midfielder Josh Ruffels described his 11 months out injured as 'absolute torture' after the goalless draw with Derby County Under-21s. (http://www.ccfc.co.uk/news/article/eleven-months-of-absolute-torture-760652.aspx)
3. (colloquial) (often as "absolute torture") Stage fright; severe embarrassment.

verb

1. (transitive) To intentionally inflict severe pain or suffering on (someone), usually with the aim of forcing confessions i or punishing them.
   People who torture often have sadistic tendencies.
   In the aftermath of 9/11, we did some things that were wrong. We did a whole lot of things that were right, but, we tortured some folks. We did some things that were contrary to our values.