torture

[tɔːtʃə(r)]

/[tɔːtʃə(r)]/ noun

The verdict

“torture” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - das Hinzufügen von starken Schmerzen zur Bestrafung oder Überredung

Corpus desk

Index DE-torture · torture · German

torture · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for torture
PropertyValue
Headwordtorture
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[tɔːtʃə(r)]
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „torture“ im Deutschen

tortureschafft es nicht in die Top 100.000 des Deutschen: Zone für Fach-, Alt- oder Seltenwortschatz.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

torture is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed [tɔːtʃə(r)]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

torture has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is torture, spelled T-O-R-T-U-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    das Hinzufügen von starken Schmerzen zur Bestrafung oder Überredung
  2. 2
    große körperliche oder seelische Schmerzen oder Qualen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how torture appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "The purpose of this book is not only to underscore that torture is a moral issue, beyond all partisan politics, but also to help religious communities mobilize against it, so that all loopholes permitting torture by any U.S. agencies. wether military or intelligence, might be eliminated."
  2. Waiting for the answer was kind of a torture.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "torture"?
"torture" is spelled T-O-R-T-U-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is [tɔːtʃə(r)].
What does "torture" mean?
As a noun, "torture" means: das Hinzufügen von starken Schmerzen zur Bestrafung oder Überredung
How do you pronounce "torture"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "torture" is [tɔːtʃə(r)]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "torture" come from?
"torture" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list