Which to use
“torture” is a noun and “tortured” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,639
- “torture” frequency rank
- #9,971
- “tortured” frequency rank
- 15610
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | torture | tortured |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The infliction of severe pain or anguish, especially as an interrogation technique or punishment; (usually in the plural) a technique, method, or device which is designed to inflict such anguish. | simple past and past participle of torture |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set torture and tortured apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: torture is /ˈtoɹt͡ʃɚ/ while tortured is /ˈtɔɹt͡ʃɚd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “torture” sits inside “tortured”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15610, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
torture is recorded at frequency rank #5,639, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtoɹt͡ʃɚ/. tortured is at rank #9,971, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈtɔɹt͡ʃɚd/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 15610, this pair ranks #462,907 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of torture vs tortured
Shared letters: eortu. Private to "torture": -. Private to "tortured": d.
"torture" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "tortured" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "torture" and "tortured" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "torture" or "tortured"?
Remembering torture vs tortured
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “torture”; for a verb, it's “tortured”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “torture” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable