different between awfulness vs torment

English

Etymology

From Middle English aghfulnesse, equivalent to awful +? -ness.

Noun

awfulness (usually uncountable, plural awfulnesses)

1. The state or quality of being awful.
   • 1942, Emily Carr, The Book of Small, "Characters," [1]

     Out came old Teenie, buzzing mad as a whole nest of wasps. Muttered awfulnesses came from her great padded bonnet.

   • 1961, Peter De Vries, The Blood of the Lamb, Penguin, 1982, Chapter 3, p. 36,

     "Why is the awfulness of families such a popular reason for starting another?"

2. The quality of striking with awe, or with reverence

   Synonyms: dreadfulness, solemnity

   • 1823, Thomas de Quincey, "On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth" in On Murder, edited by Robert Morrison, Oxford World's Classics, 2006, p. 3,

     […] the knocking at the gate, which succeeds to the murder of Duncan, produced to my feelings an effect for which I could never account: the effect was—that it reflected back upon the murder a peculiar awfulness and a depth of solemnity […]

   the awfulness of this sacred place

3. The state of being struck with awe; a spirit of solemnity; profound reverence.

English

Etymology

From Middle English torment, from Old French torment, from Latin tormentum (“something operated by twisting”), from torquere (“to twist”).

Pronunciation

• (noun) IPA^(key): /?t??(?)m?nt/
• (verb) IPA^(key): /t??(?)?m?nt/

Noun

torment (countable and uncountable, plural torments)

1. (obsolete) A catapult or other kind of war-engine.
2. Torture, originally as inflicted by an instrument of torture.
3. Any extreme pain, anguish or misery, either physical or mental.

   He was bitter from the torments of the divorce.

   • They brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:pain

Derived terms

• tormentous

Translations

Verb

torment (third-person singular simple present torments, present participle tormenting, simple past and past participle tormented)

1. (transitive) 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

Translations

Middle English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French torment, from Latin tormentum.

Noun

torment (plural torments)

1. torment (suffering, pain)

Descendants

• English: torment

Middle French

Alternative forms

• tourment

Etymology

From Old French torment, from Latin tormentum.

Noun

torment m (plural torments)

1. torment; suffering; anguish

Old French

Alternative forms

• turment

Etymology

From Latin tormentum.

Noun

torment m (oblique plural tormenz or tormentz, nominative singular tormenz or tormentz, nominative plural torment)

1. torture
2. (figuratively, by extension) suffering; torment

Descendants

• Middle English: torment (borrowing)
  • English: torment
• Middle French: torment, tourment
  • French: tourment

References

• “tourment” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Old Occitan

Etymology

From Latin tormentum.

Noun

torment m (nominative singular torments)

1. suffering; torment

Descendants

• Catalan: turment
• Occitan: torment