2 syllables: Tor, ture. Stress on Tor.
TAWR-chur
/ˈtɔɹtʃɚ/
Torture is pronounced TAWR-chur (/ˈtɔɹtʃɚ/). It has two syllables (Tor-ture), with the stress on "Tor". Torture (noun) refers to the act of inflicting severe pain or suffering, especially as a means of punishment, coercion, or extracting information. It conveys extreme agony and intentional harm, often violating ethical and legal norms. In everyday use, it can also describe intense mental or emotional strain, not necessarily physical pain.
nounTorture (noun) refers to the act of inflicting severe pain or suffering, especially as a means of punishment, coercion, or extracting information. It conveys extreme agony and intentional harm, often violating ethical and legal norms. In everyday use, it can also describe intense mental or emotional strain, not necessarily physical pain.
"The prisoner endured years of torture rather than divulge the secret."
"Public debate intensified after new evidence emerged about the torture of detainees."
"The thought of losing loved ones is a kind of torture for many people."
Torture is pronounced with stress on the first syllable: /ˈtɔːr.tʃər/ in US and UK English, with a two-syllable rhythm. Start with the open back rounded vowel /ɔː/ as in 'or', then /r/ after the first syllable, and end with /tʃər/ where the /tʃ/ is the 'ch' sound followed by a reduced /ər/ or /ə/ depending on accent. Think: 'TOR-chure' with crisp t and a soft r. Audio examples: you can compare with Cambridge or Forvo entries for native pronunciation.
Common errors include misplacing the stress or flattening the /ɔː/ vowel into /ɔ/ or /ɑ/ and mispronouncing the /tʃ/ as /t/ or /dʒ/. Another frequent issue is a weak or non-rhotic ending: pronounce the final /ər/ clearly as /ər/ in rhotic accents or a reduced /ə/ in non-rhotic ones. Focus on a clear /t/ onset, a long /ɔː/ vowel, a precise /tʃ/ blend, then a curled /ər/ or schwa + r depending on accent.
In General American, you’ll hear /ˈtɔɚ.tʃɚ/ with rhotic /ɚ/ at the end and a pronounced /ɔɚ/. In UK English, /ˈtɔː.tʃə/ often uses a non-rhotic ending /ə/ or /əː/ and a slightly longer /ɔː/ in the first syllable. Australian English tends to be similar to UK but with subtle vowel narrowing and a less pronounced rhoticity; the final vowel /ə/ or /ɐ/ can vary. Listen to native speakers to tune the exact vowel length and r-coloring.
The difficulty lies in blending /t/ and /tʃ/ sequences and managing the /ɔː/ vowel in rapid speech, plus the final /ər/ or /ə/ depending on the accent. The /tʃ/ digraph creates a palatal quality that isn’t present in many common words, and the ending can be rhotic or non-rhotic, affecting the vowel duration and syllable emphasis. Practice isolating the three core phonemes: /t/, /ɔː/, and /tʃə/ to achieve a natural rhythm.
There are no silent letters in the standard pronunciation of 'torture'. The word is phonemically /ˈtɔːr.tʃər/ (US) or /ˈtɔː.tʃə/ (UK/AU). The final 'e' is not silent in the sense of spelling, but it doesn’t correspond to a full vowel sound in many accents; instead, it contributes to the /ər/ or /ə/ syllable shape after the /tʃ/. Focus on pronouncing the /ər/ or /ə/ clearly if your accent preserves rhoticity.
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Torture comes from Old French torture, from Latin torquere, meaning to twist or bend. The Latin root torqu- (to twist) evolved into tortūra in Latin, referring to coercion or torment, and later to the form tortura in Old French. The English adoption maintained the sense of twisting or wrenching pain, extending metaphorically to mental torment as physical pain. The term appears in English by the 14th century, originally tied to physical coercion or interrogation methods. Over time, its usage broadened to describe any extreme suffering, including psychological or existential distress. The legal and ethical implications of torture intensified in modern discourse, with international law codifying prohibitions and condemnations. Throughout its history, the word has retained the core sense of deliberate, intense pain designed to break a person’s will, while its figurative usage has grown to cover pervasive, crushing distress beyond the realm of physical punishment.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Torture" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Torture"
-ure sounds
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