1 the action of causing sb great pain either as a punishment or to make him/her say or do sth 折磨;拷打;刑讯:
His confession was extracted under torture.他是在严刑拷打下才招供的。
2 mental or physical suffering 精神或肉体上的折磨:
It's torture having to sit here and listen to him complaining for hours.坐在这里听他发几个小时牢骚真让人吃不消。
tortureverbMost of the prisoners were tortured into making a confession.大部份囚犯都是在严刑拷打下招供的。She was tortured by the thought that the accident was her fault.她认为意外是她造成的,这使她非常痛苦。 ➔torturernoun [C]
torture1/ˋtɔrtʃɚ; ˈtɔːtʃə/v [T] to hurt someone deliberately in order to force them to give you information, to punish them, or to be cruel〔为了获取情报或惩罚而〕拷打﹐拷问﹐对…施以酷刑: Resistance leaders were tortured to death in prison. 抵抗组织的领导人在狱中被折磨致死。 —torturer n [C]
torture2n [C,U] 1 when someone is tortured 拷打﹐拷问﹔酷刑: the torture of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的拷打under torture He confessed under torture. 他在严刑拷打下招认了。2 severe physical or mental suffering〔身心所受的〕折磨﹐煎熬
torturetorturetorturestorturedtorturingnoun (no plural)the act of making somebody feel great pain, often to make them give information: His confession was obtained under torture.▶ tortureverb (tortures, torturing, tortured): Many of the prisoners had been tortured.