agony

Compared meaning: great pain or suffering (noun).

比较义项：极大的痛苦、折磨（名词）。

• torture

  Suggests suffering deliberately and severely inflicted by someone else, typically linked to war, captivity or interrogation; the strongest, most dramatic of the three.

  强调痛苦是他人蓄意、极端施加的，常与战争、囚禁或审讯有关；是三者中语气最强烈、最具戏剧性的一个。

  The prisoner described the torture he endured during the war.

  那名囚犯描述了他在战争期间所忍受的折磨。

• agony 本词

  Emphasizes the intensity of pain, often sudden and physical though it can also be mental; commonly used in the fixed phrase 'in agony'.

  强调痛苦的剧烈程度，常指突发的身体疼痛，也可指精神上的痛苦；常用于固定搭配“in agony”（痛苦万分）。

  He was in agony after twisting his ankle on the stairs.

  他在楼梯上扭伤了脚踝后痛苦万分。

• torment

  Highlights suffering that is ongoing or repeated, often caused by something persistently disturbing, like noise or worry; frequently used as a verb.

  强调持续或反复出现的痛苦，常由噪音、忧虑等持续困扰造成；常用作动词。

  Loud noises at night began to torment him during exams.

  考试期间，夜里的噪音开始折磨他。

All three mean intense suffering. Torture stresses extreme pain caused by someone, linked to war or interrogation. Agony stresses intense, sudden pain, physical or mental, as in 'in agony'. Torment stresses ongoing, repeated suffering, often from noise or worry (noun sense only).

这三个词都表示强烈的痛苦或折磨，但侧重不同：torture 强调他人蓄意造成的极端痛苦，常与战争、囚禁或审讯有关，语气最强烈、最具戏剧性；agony 强调痛苦的剧烈程度，常指突发的身体疼痛，也可指精神痛苦，常见搭配“in agony”；torment 强调持续、反复出现的折磨感，常由噪音、忧虑等长期困扰引起，也常作动词使用。torture 和 torment 在其他语境中也可作动词表示“折磨某人”，但本卡片只比较作为名词的这一义项。