Torture Someone Into Doing vs. Torture Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “torture somebody into doing something” for forcing an action through physical or mental harm. The cited entry directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish “torture someone to do” as an equivalent complement pattern.
Use “torture someone into doing” only for the directly documented coercive construction; do not infer “torture someone to do.”
Key details
Choose the right form
| Intended construction | Pattern | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| force an action through torture | torture + person + into + -ing | Use the directly documented coercive pattern. |
| replace it automatically with an object + to-infinitive | torture + person + to do | Do not infer this as an equivalent pattern from the reviewed evidence. |
| different meaning of “torture” | use evidence for that construction | Keep this rule scoped to the coercive complement pattern. |
Quick tests
Documented-complement test
Do you mean that torture forced a person into carrying out an action?
If yes: Use “torture someone into doing.”
If no: Use a construction supported for the different meaning you intend.
Caveat: The reviewed source directly supports “into + -ing”; this guide does not claim that every conceivable “torture + to” sequence is impossible in every other syntax.
Examples
The captors tortured the prisoner into revealing the location.
“Into + -ing” expresses the action forced by torture.
The regime tortured detainees into signing false statements.
The documented coercive complement is “into signing.”
They tortured him into giving them the code.
The -ing clause names the action the person was forced into.
Further guidance
Boundary
The cited entry directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish “torture someone to do” as an equivalent complement pattern.
Construction
Oxford directly documents “torture somebody into doing something” for forcing an action through physical or mental harm.
Decision
Use “torture someone into doing” only for the directly documented coercive construction; do not infer “torture someone to do.”
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- torture verb — Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries · Oxford learner-dictionary evidence directly documenting the torture someone into doing construction