刻意施加的酷刑
核心本身，名詞與動詞兩面：有施加者、有目的、痛苦是被造出來的。
deliberate cruel pain · noun · C1
The act of hurting someone on purpose, to make them tell you something, to punish them, or to be cruel.
酷刑
核心畫面
A way to picture it: pain deliberately applied and kept up — someone twisting, and not letting go. From there the word stretches to any suffering that goes on and on, even when nobody is doing it to you.
有人刻意加上痛苦，而且持續不放手——不是打一下就走，是慢慢地擰、拖著時間，讓你撐不下去。這個「持續施加、無法脫身」的…更多收起
有人刻意加上痛苦，而且持續不放手——不是打一下就走，是慢慢地擰、拖著時間，讓你撐不下去。這個「持續施加、無法脫身」的感覺就是整個字的重心。也因為重心在「難熬地拖著」，它才能從真實的刑求延伸到那些沒有人在傷害你、卻同樣讓你煎熬的處境。From the word’s history
From Latin tortura, 'a twisting', from torquere 'to twist' (the same root as twist-words like distort and contort). The oldest picture in the word is literally wringing a body.
來自拉丁文 tortura「扭、擰」，字根 torquere 就是「扭轉」（distort、contort 都是同一家）。所以這個字最古老的畫面比較像很具體的：身體被扭擰。現代用法裡那種「被慢慢絞著、放不開」的感覺，正是從這個扭的動作留下來的。
Wiktionary, entry "torture" (Late Latin tortūra 'a twisting', from Latin torquēre 'to twist')
Two branches
難熬的煎熬
把「有人擰著你不放」的感覺借出去，用在沒有加害者、但一樣脫不了身的痛苦上。
great suffering · noun · C1
Very strong pain in the body or in the mind, or a situation that makes you suffer a lot.
折磨
原始詞典資料5 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
torturenoun/ˈtɔːt͡ʃə/
- 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.
- People confess to anything under torture.
- Using large dogs to attack bound, hand-cuffed prisoners is clearly torture.
- 2
BDSMlifestylesexualityThe 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.
- cock and ball torture
- tickle torture
- 3
Severe pain or anguish, of mind or body.
- 4
An unpleasant sensation or its infliction: embarrassment, heartache, etc.
- Every time she says 'goodbye' it is torture!
- Coventry City midfielder Josh Ruffels described his 11 months out injured as 'absolute torture' after the goalless draw with Derby County Under-21s. (http://www.ccfc.co.uk/news/article/eleven-months-of-absolute-torture-760652.aspx)
tortureverb/ˈtɔːt͡ʃə/
- 1
To intentionally inflict severe pain or suffering on (someone), usually with the aim of forcing confessions or punishing them.
- 1 August 2014, Barack Obama, "Press Conference by the President"; transcript published online by the Obama White House Archives, [https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/08/01/press-conference-president [1]]. With respect to the larger point of the RDI report itself, even before I came into office I was very clear that in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 we did some things that were wrong. We did a whole lot of things that were right, but we tortured some folks. We did some things that were contrary to our values.
- People who torture often have sadistic tendencies.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。