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
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.
"We are deeply pained by the accident...which has preliminarily left more than 38 people injured and 3 dead," Popayan mayor Juan Carlos Munoz wrote on X.
From Barron's • May 4, 2026
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
But since the pits closed almost four decades ago, residents describe a slow and pained decline as people struggled to get well-paid, stable employment.
From BBC • Feb. 17, 2026
In the Sierra, where resorts have been pained by warm weather and a snow drought so far this season, it was far from clear whether there would be enough cold air to lower snow levels.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025
I recapped all of this to Trevor, who now stared at me with a pained expression on his face.
From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks
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.
