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Torment vs Bedevil - What's the difference?

torment | bedevil |

As verbs the difference between torment and bedevil

is that torment is to cause severe suffering to (stronger than to vex'' but weaker than ''to torture ) while bedevil is to harass or cause trouble for; to plague.

As a noun torment

is (obsolete) a catapult or other kind of war-engine.

torment

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • (obsolete) A catapult or other kind of war-engine.
  • Torture, originally as inflicted by an instrument of torture.
  • Any extreme pain, anguish or misery, either physical or mental.
    • He was bitter from the torments of the divorce system.
  • * Bible, Matthew iv. 24
    • They brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments .

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * tormentous

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To cause severe suffering to (stronger than to vex'' but weaker than ''to torture. )
    • The child tormented the flies by pulling their wings off.
  • * 2013 , Phil McNulty, " Man City 4-1 Man Utd", BBC Sport , 22 September 2013:
    • Moyes, who never won a derby at Liverpool in 11 years as Everton manager, did not find the Etihad any more forgiving as City picked United apart in midfield, where Toure looked in a different class to United's £27.5m new boy Marouane Fellaini, and in defence as Aguero tormented Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand.

    Derived terms

    * tormentor

    bedevil

    English

    Verb

  • To harass or cause trouble for; to plague.
    • Guerrilla attacks continued to bedevil the larger army's supply routes.
  • To perplex or bewilder.

    • Usage notes

    * The spellings bedeviling'' and ''bedeviled'' are preferred in the US, while ''bedevilling'' and ''bedevilled are preferred in the UK. However, the choice of spellings is not universal.