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countable and uncountable, plural torments
(obsolete) A catapult or other kind of war-engine.
Torture, originally as inflicted by an instrument of torture. examples
Any extreme pain, anguish or misery, either physical or mental. quotations examples
They brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Matthew 4:24
third-person singular simple present torments, present participle tormenting, simple past and past participle tormented
(transitive) To cause severe suffering to (stronger than to vex but weaker than to torture.) quotations examples
Moyes, who never won a derby at Liverpool in 11 years as Everton manager, did not find the Etihad any more forgiving as City picked United apart in midfield, where Toure looked in a different class to United's £27.5m new boy Marouane Fellaini, and in defence as Aguero tormented Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand.
2013 September 22, Phil McNulty, “Man City 4-1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport
But the divine children were both noisy and mischievous. They tormented their venerable grandmother with their shrill uproar and tricky behaviour.
1913, Lewis Spence, chapter V, in The Myths of Mexico and Peru