As a noun, it means severe physical or mental suffering. As a verb, it means to cause someone to suffer greatly, especially over a long time.
It comes from Latin 'tormentum', meaning 'twisting' or 'torture', from 'torquere' meaning 'to twist'. The idea was that intense pain felt like being twisted or stretched.
Torment and torture share the same 'twisting' root, showing how physical pain and emotional pain got linked in language. When someone says 'I’m tormented by this decision', they’re borrowing the feeling of being physically twisted for an inner struggle.
Language around torment has sometimes been gendered in narratives that eroticize women’s suffering or trivialize harassment as playful torment. Women and gender minorities have often had their experiences of torment, especially in domestic or workplace settings, minimized in language.
Avoid romanticizing or sexualizing someone’s torment, especially when referring to women or marginalized groups. Use clear terms like “abuse,” “harassment,” or “violence” when appropriate instead of softening them as mere torment.
["harass","abuse","persecute","cause distress"]
Survivors, many of them women, have pushed for language that accurately names torment as abuse or harassment, influencing legal and social recognition.
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