| 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: | tormenting |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | very painful |
| Synonyms: | agonizing, anguishing, distressing, disturbing, excruciating, extreme, fierce, harrowing, intense, racking, struggling, suffering, tearing, tortuous, torturing, torturous, vehement, violent |
| 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: | agonizing |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | difficult and painful, suffering |
| Synonyms: | disturbing, excruciating, extreme, fierce, harrowing, intense, racking, struggling, tearing, tormenting, tortuous, torturing, vehement, violent |
| Main Entry: | badger |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | nag, bother |
| Synonyms: | annoy, bait, bug, bully, eat*, give the business, goad, harass, harry, hassle, heckle, hound, importune, insist on, needle, nudge, pester, plague, ride, tease, torment, work on |
| Main Entry: | bait |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | needle |
| Synonyms: | anger, annoy, badger, bother, gall, harass, heckle, hound, irk, irritate, nag, persecute, provoke, tease, torment |
| Main Entry: | bother |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | harass, annoy; give trouble |
| Synonyms: | afflict, aggravate, agitate, alarm, badger, bedevil, bore, browbeat, carp at, concern, cross, discommode, disconcert, disgust, dismay, displease, disquiet, distress, disturb, eat, embarrass, exacerbate, exasperate, goad, grate on, grieve, harry, hinder, hurt, impede, inconvenience, insult, intrude upon, irk, irritate, molest, nag, needle, nudge, pain, perplex, perturb, pester, pick on, plague, provoke, pursue, put out, ride, scare, spite, tantalize, taunt, tease, torment, trouble, upset, vex, worry |
| Antonyms: | aid, help, please |
| Main Entry: | bully |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | intimidate, push around |
| Synonyms: | bludgeon, bluster, browbeat, buffalo, bulldoze, coerce, cow, despotize, domineer, dragoon, enforce, harass, hector, lean on, menace, oppress, overbear, persecute, ride roughshod, showboat, swagger, terrorize, threaten, torment, torture, turn on the heat, tyrannize, walk heavy |
| Antonyms: | allow, leave alone |
| Main Entry: | crucify |
| 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 |