ex-crŭcĭo, āvi, ātum, 1 (archaic inf. praes. excruciarier, Ter. Heaut. 413), v. a., to torment greatly, to torture, rack, plague (class.).
I Physically: perii! excruciabit me herus, Plaut. Mil. 3, 2, 45: servos fame vinculisque, Caes. B. G. 7, 19, 9; cf.: (uxores) igni atque omnibus tormentis excruciatae, id. ib. 6, 19, 3: aliquem vinculis ac verberibus atque omni supplicio excruciatum necare, Cic. de Imp. Pomp. 5, 11; cf. also: hominem ingenuum fumo excruciatum semivivum reliquit, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 17, § 45: excruciatus inopiā, Plaut. Bacch. 3, 4, 24: ipsos crudeliter excruciatos interficit, Caes. B. G. 7, 38, 9: frigus nudos excruciabat, Lucr. 5, 1426 et saep.—Comic. Ep. Hunc tibi dedo diem. St. Meam culpam habeto, nisi probe excruciavero, qs. thoroughly torture it , i. e. use it up , make the most of it , Plaut. Stich. 3, 1, 32.—
B Transf., to force out by torturing , to extort : re excruciatā, Tert. ad Uxor. 2, 5 fin. —
II Mentally, to afflict , distress , harass , vex , torment : conficior maerore, mea Terentia; nec meae me miseriae magis excruciant quam tuae, Cic. Fam. 14, 3, 1; cf.: non loquor plura, ne te quoque excruciem, id. Att. 10, 18, 3: haec sunt, quae me excruciant, Plaut. Trin. 2, 2, 9.—In imprecations: di deaeque te excrucient, Plaut. Pers. 5, 2, 50: temeritas et libido et ignavia semper animum excruciant et semper sollicitant, Cic. Fin. 1, 16, 50: se, Plaut. Curc. 1, 3, 14: quid illam miseram animi excrucias? id. Mil. 4, 2, 76; cf.: se animi, id. Rud. 2, 3, 68: tum Antipho me excruciat animi, Ter. Phorm. 188; v. also in the foll.—In the pass. : excrucior, Plaut. Cist. 1, 1, 61; id. Trin. 1, 2, 66: id ego excrucior, id. Ep. 2, 2, 8; cf.: hoc sese excruciat animi, Quia, etc., id. Rud. 2, 3, 57.