tormentor

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tormentor

/tɔːˈmɛn.tə(ɹ)/ UK
/tɔɹˈmɛn.tɚ/ Canada, US
/toːˈmen.tə(ɹ)/ Australia

Rhymes with -ɛntə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Anglo-Norman tourmentour, from Old French tormenteor.

noun tormentors · tormentour

One who torments; a person, animal, or object that causes suffering. Before that estimable lady could recover herself, or offer the slightest retaliation, she was forced into a kneeling posture by a crowd of shouting tormentors, and compelled to swallow a spoonful of the odious mixture […]
archaic A person delegated to torture prisoners. And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
Similar: torturer
figuratively Something abstract that causes suffering. These words hereafter thy tormentors be!
Similar: scourge
One of a pair of narrow curtains just behind the front curtain and teaser that mask the areas on the sides of the stage and can be adjusted to the desired width. Then Nathan Eldred, gently pushing, was muttering, ‘On you go, dear. Good luck!’ and she was edging between the tormentor and the backing flats, in front of the curtain, holding her small hands out to the sudden-silenced audience […]
An implement for reducing a stiff soil, resembling a harrow, but running upon wheels.
obsolete A long meat-fork. 1813, Charles Stewart, enclosure in a letter to the Secretary of the Navy, dated 18 October, 1813, in William S. Dudley (editor), The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History, Washington D.C.: Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, 1992, Volume 2, p. 392, Cabin furniture received onboard t

Translations

Every language

noun someone who torments

Español	atormentador
Português	atormentador
Français	bourreau
Deutsch	Peiniger, Peinigerin
Ελληνικά	βασανιστής vasanistís
Русский	мучи́тель mučítelʹ, мучи́тельница mučítelʹnica

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MLA

"tormentor." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tormentor. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

tormentor. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tormentor

Chicago

"tormentor." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tormentor.

BibTeX

@misc{tormentor_2026,
  title = {tormentor},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tormentor},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}