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| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | execute; torture near to death |
| Synonyms: | excruciate, hang, harrow, kill, martyr, martyrize, nail to cross, persecute, rack, torment, torture |
| Antonyms: | exalt |
| Main Entry: | afflict |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | cause or become hurt |
| Synonyms: | agonize, annoy, beset, bother, burden, crucify, distress, grieve, harass, harrow, harry, irk, lacerate, martyr, oppress, pain, pester, plague, press, rack, smite, strike, torment, torture, trouble, try, vex, worry, wound |
| Notes: | afflict is generally used with living beings; inflict is generally used with inanimate objects inflict takes 'on,' afflict takes 'with' |
| Antonyms: | aid, comfort, help, solace, stay away from, take care of |
| Main Entry: | agonize |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | suffer or cause another to suffer |
| Synonyms: | afflict, bleed, carry on, crucify, distress, disturb, eat heart out, excruciate, harrow, hurt, labor, lament, martyr, pain, rack, sing the blues, squirm, stew over, strain, strive, struggle, take it badly, torment, torture, try, wince, worry, writhe |
| Antonyms: | not worry |
| Main Entry: | cut up |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make fun of; criticize |
| Synonyms: | censure, condemn, crucify, denounce, give a rough time, knock, pan, rap, reprehend, reprobate, ridicule, skin, vilify |
| Main Entry: | kill |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | deprive of existence; destroy |
| Synonyms: | X-out, annihilate, asphyxiate, assassinate, crucify, dispatch, do away with, do in, drown, dump, electrocute, eradicate, erase*, execute, exterminate, extirpate, finish, garrote, get*, guillotine, hang, hit*, immolate, liquidate, lynch, massacre, murder, neutralize, obliterate, off*, poison, polish off, put away, put to death, rub out, sacrifice, slaughter, slay, smother, snuff, strangle, suffocate, waste*, wipe out, zap |
| Antonyms: | bear, create, give birth |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | persecute |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | wrong, torment |
| Synonyms: | afflict, aggrieve, annoy, badger, bait, be on one's case, beat, bother, crucify, distress, dog*, dragoon, drive up the wall, exile, expel, harass, hector, hound, hunt, ill-treat, injure, maltreat, martyr, molest, oppress, outrage, pester, pick on, plague, pursue, tease, torture, tyrannize, vex, victimize, worry |
| Notes: | persecute means 'to harass or treat unjustly'; prosecute is 'to bring legal action against' or 'to pursue something until the end' |
| Antonyms: | comfort, commend, console, reward, soothe |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | rack |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | torture; strain |
| Synonyms: | afflict, agonize, crucify, distress, excruciate, force, harass, harrow, martyr, oppress, pain, persecute, pull, shake, stress, stretch, tear, torment, try, wrench, wring |
| Notes: | rack is the linear gear and pinion is the circular gear in a mechanism rack is destruction and ruin is destitution; in rack and ruin, rack is a variation of wrack and wreck |
| Antonyms: | please, pleasure, soothe |
| Main Entry: | torment |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | be or make very upset |
| Synonyms: | abuse, afflict, agonize, annoy, bait, bedevil, bone, bother, break, crucify, devil, distress, drive bananas, drive up the wall, excruciate, give a hard time, harass, harrow, harry, heckle, hound, hurt, irritate, mistreat, molest, nag, pain, persecute, pester, plague, play cat and mouse, provoke, punish, put through wringer, rack, rub salt in wound, smite, tease, torture, trouble, try, vex, worry, wring |
| Notes: | torment suggests persecution or the repeated inflicting of suffering or annoyance; torture adds the implication of causing unbearable pain or suffering |
| Antonyms: | delight, make happy, please |
| Main Entry: | torture |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | upset or hurt severely |
| Synonyms: | abuse, afflict, agonize, annoy, beat, bother, crucify, distress, disturb, excruciate, grill, harrow, impale, injure, irritate, lacerate, maim, mangle, martyr, martyrize, mistreat, mutilate, oppress, pain, persecute, rack, smite, torment, try, whip, wound, wring, wrong |
| Notes: | torment suggests persecution or the repeated inflicting of suffering or annoyance; torture adds the implication of causing unbearable pain or suffering |
| Antonyms: | alleviate, make happy, please, relieve |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
