waterboarding

[ waw-ter-bawr-ding, ‐bohr‐, wot-er‐ ]

/ ˈwɔ tərˌbɔr dɪŋ, ‐ˌboʊr‐, ˈwɒt ər‐ /

a harsh interrogation technique in which water is poured onto the face and head of the immobilized victim so as to induce a fear of drowning.

Origin of waterboarding

First recorded in 2000–05; water + board + -ing¹

A number of Japanese soldiers were criminally charged and convicted for waterboarding and otherwise torturing prisoners.

The Luxury Homes That Torture and Your Tax Dollars Built |Michael Daly |December 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The U.S. took a more serious view of waterboarding when it was done to Americans in World War II.

The Luxury Homes That Torture and Your Tax Dollars Built |Michael Daly |December 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
They might have scored all that dough if word of the waterboarding had not leaked.

The Luxury Homes That Torture and Your Tax Dollars Built |Michael Daly |December 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I know of the waterboarding of the three guys pursuant to the August 2002 program.

CIA Interrogation Chief: ‘Rectal Feeding,’ Broken Limbs Are News to Me |Kimberly Dozier |December 11, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

But there were no beatings, no waterboarding, no rough stuff at all.

What It’s Like to Be Snatched by the Delta Force |Michael Daly |October 9, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

waterboarding

/ (ˈwɔːtəˌbɔːdɪŋ) /

a form of torture in which the victim is immobilized and has water poured on his or her face, producing a severe gag reflex, to simulate drowning