pained
Americanadjective
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hurt; injured.
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showing or expressing distress, anguish, or resentment.
a pained look in reply to a sarcastic remark.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- overpained adjective
- unpained adjective
Etymology
Origin of pained
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at pain, -ed 2
Explanation
When someone is pained, they're hurt or troubled by something. If you see a boy sitting on the ground beside a battered bicycle looking pained, you should check and make sure he's okay. A pained look on someone's face might mean that they're in physical discomfort. For example, if your sister gives a pained smile after falling hard at the roller rink, she might have bruised, twisted, or even broken something. In many other cases, a pained expression conveys mental pain. When you're deeply upset about something, it's hard to react with much more than a pained smile if your friend tries to cheer you up with bad jokes.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Kurlender said it pained him to see hundreds of thousands of south Lebanese displaced from their villages just minutes away, but thought that Israel's military offensive was necessary.
From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026
"His visit will lift the spirits of a pained community and we hope will lead to a much-needed recalibration of bilateral relations between two historic allies," he said.
From BBC • Feb. 8, 2026
A Father Christmas figure is pictured looking pained in the water at the foot of a rock.
From Barron's • Nov. 19, 2025
Short, pained lives marked by achievement and promise and then abruptly gone leave a restless afterglow.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 8, 2025
A pained, urgent expression was deepening on his face like a plea that Carla did not know how to answer.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
