torturous

From Middle English torterous, from Anglo-Norman torturous, from Old French tortureus, from Latin tortūra. By surface analysis, torture +‎ -ous.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔɹt͡ʃəɹəs/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔːt͡ʃəɹəs/

• Audio (Southern England):

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• Hyphenation: tor‧tur‧ous

torturous (comparative more torturous, superlative most torturous)

1. Of or pertaining to torture.
2. Painful, excruciating, torturing.

• Sometimes confused with tortuous (“convoluted, twisted”), tortious (“constituting a tort, or violation of civil law”), and tortured (“far-fetched”). A "tortuous process" is one that is overly complicated; a "torturous process" is one that is agonizing (or, hyperbolically, so annoying as to be painful).

• tormentous