[f. TORMENT v. + -ING1.] The action of the verb TORMENT; torturing, vexing; an instance of this.
c. 1290. S. Eng. Leg., I. 12/389. His soule wende to þe Joye of heouene After is tormentingue.
1382. Wyclif, Isa. xiii. 8. Tormentingus and sorewes thei shul holde.
1535. Coverdale, Wisd. ii. 19. Let vs examen him with despitefull rebuke and tormentinge, that we maye knowe his dignite & proue his pacience.
1633. P. Fletcher, Elisa, II. iv. So sat she, as when speechlesse griefs tormenting Locks up the heart.
1884. Athenæum, 6 Dec., 732/2. [They] suffer from no fancied ills and self-conscious tormentings.
