torture

/ˈtoɹt͡ʃɚ/

//ˈtoɹt͡ʃɚ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"torture" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“torture” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,639. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,639
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - 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.

Corpus desk

Index EN-torture · torture · English

torture · rank #5,639 · 10 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,639
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH timeline

Nearest frequency peer: timeline (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “torture”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “torture” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

torture vs Toure
57% similar
torture vs tortured
88% similar
torture vs torque
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for torture
PropertyValue
Headwordtorture
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtoɹt͡ʃɚ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#5,639
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “torture”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).torturelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “timeline” (#5,638), “traded” (#5,640), “translated” (#5,641). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “torture” is #5,639. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around torture (IPA /ˈtoɹt͡ʃɚ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,639 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for torture, with forms such as "otrture", "torrture", and "tortrue". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "Toure", "tortured", "torque", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English torture, from Old French torture, from Late Latin tortūra (“a twisting, writhing, of bodily pain, a griping colic;” in Medieval Latin “pain inflicted by judicial or ecclesiastical authority as a means of persuasion, torture”), from Latin… The correct English form is torture, spelled T-O-R-T-U-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    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.
  2. 2
    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.
  3. 3
    Severe pain or anguish, of mind or body.
  4. 4
    An unpleasant sensation or its infliction: embarrassment, heartache, etc.

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. People confess to anything under torture.
  2. Using large dogs to attack bound, hand-cuffed prisoners is clearly torture.

Etymology

From Middle English torture, from Old French torture, from Late Latin tortūra (“a twisting, writhing, of bodily pain, a griping colic;” in Medieval Latin “pain inflicted by judicial or ecclesiastical authority as a means of persuasion, torture”), from Latin tortus (whence also tort), past participle of torquēre (“to twist”).

Synonyms

enhanced interrogationtorturetormentexcruciate

This word in other languages

tortura(Español)torture(Français)Folter(Deutsch)tortura(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • otrture
  • torrture
  • tortrue
  • tortture
  • tortuer
  • torturre
  • torutre
  • totrure
  • troture
  • ttorture

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of torture - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

otrture2torrture1tortrue2tortture1tortuer2torturre1torutre2totrure2
Edit distance from "torture"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). 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 /ˈtoɹt͡ʃɚ/.
What does "torture" mean?
As a noun, "torture" means: 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.
What words are commonly confused with "torture"?
"torture" is commonly confused with "Toure", "tortured", "torque". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "torture"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "torture" is /ˈtoɹt͡ʃɚ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "torture"?
From Middle English torture, from Old French torture, from Late Latin tortūra (“a twisting, writhing, of bodily pain, a griping colic;” in Medieval Latin “pain inflicted by judicial or ecclesiastical authority as a means of persuasion, torture”), ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "torture", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

stating#5,632smiling#5,628wrapped#5,651quietly#5,620

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

tricks10 variantslesbian10 variantsgrants10 variantsfifteen10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list