torturous.

Causing severe physical or mental suffering.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• torturous ordeal
• torturous wait

On the page

The torturous wait ended only when the radio came alive.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Comparative more torturous; superlative most torturous. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description. Commonness: moderately common.