How to pronounce “torment”
“torment” is said two ways
/ˈtɔɹˌmɛnt/
TOR-ment
The suffering itself. Beat on TOR.
/tɔɹˈmɛnt/
tor-MENT
To cause that suffering. Beat on MENT.
Listen for the beat, not the letters
One syllable gets longer, louder and a step higher, and the other one collapses towards a schwa. Say the whole sentence rather than the word on its own and let the grammar pull the beat where it belongs.Both forms live in one sentence here: “Do not torment him about a torment he cannot undo.”Each button plays a short phrase rather than the bare word: the model voice takes its stress from the words around it, so asking it for “torment” on its own would play one reading twice instead of the noun and the verb. Read the transcription as you listen.
Say “torment” in 2 beats
torment
/ˈtɔɹˌmɛnt/
Everything in this card describes the noun form. As a verb it is /tɔɹˈmɛnt/.
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˈtɔːmɛnt/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- tortɔɹstress
- mentmɛnt
- IPA (American)
- /ˈtɔɹˌmɛnt/
- IPA (British)
- /ˈtɔːmɛnt/
- Respelling
- TOR-ment (noun) · tor-MENT (verb)
- Syllables
- 2 — TOR-ment
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: TOR-ment. “tor” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
This is the noun form in two accents — a separate question from the two pronunciations above, which are the same accent saying two different words.
/ˈtɔɹˌmɛnt/
/ˈtɔːmɛnt/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “torment” goes wrong
- Often heard
“TOR-ment the dog”
doing it is tor-MENT; TOR-ment is the suffering
What “torment” means
- noun
unbearable physical pain
- noun
extreme mental distress
- noun
intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain
“an agony of doubt”
Say it in a sentence
“Do not torment him about a torment he cannot undo.”“torment”, answered
How do you pronounce “torment”?
“torment” has two pronunciations: /ˈtɔɹˌmɛnt/ as a noun and /tɔɹˈmɛnt/ as a verb — the part of speech decides which. The spelling never changes; the beat does, and the vowels reshape around wherever it lands. The transcription and syllable breakdown below describe the noun form. Build it as TOR-ment, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “torment” have?
2: tor · ment. The beat lands on the first, “tor”.
Which pronunciation of “torment” is correct?
Both are. /ˈtɔɹˌmɛnt/ (TOR-ment) as a noun; /tɔɹˈmɛnt/ (tor-MENT) as a verb. Nothing about the spelling tells you which — the sentence does. Move the beat and the word changes its job mid-sentence, which is why both are worth drilling. Both appear here: “Do not torment him about a torment he cannot undo.”
Is “torment” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈtɔɹˌmɛnt/ (TOR-ment); British English says /ˈtɔːmɛnt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “torment” mean?
As a noun: unbearable physical pain For example: “Do not torment him about a torment he cannot undo.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “torment”?
Stress the first syllable: TOR-ment. “tor” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “torment” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.