pain

[peyn]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pain ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

physical suffering or distress, as due to injury, illness, etc.

a distressing sensation in a particular part of the body: a back pain.

mental or emotional suffering or torment: I am sorry my news causes you such pain.

pains,

laborious or careful efforts; assiduous care: Great pains have been taken to repair the engine perfectly.
the suffering of childbirth.

Informal. an annoying or troublesome person or thing.

verb (used with object)

to cause physical pain to; hurt.

to cause (someone) mental or emotional pain; distress: Your sarcasm pained me.

verb (used without object)

to have or give pain.

Idioms

feel no pain, Informal. to be intoxicated: After all that free beer, we were feeling no pain.

on/upon/under pain of, liable to the penalty of: on pain of death.

pain in the ass, Slang: Vulgar. pain(def 5).

pain in the neck, Informal. pain(def 5).

Origin of pain

1250–1300; Middle English peine punishment, torture, pain < Old French < Latin poena penalty, pain < Greek poinḗ penalty

Related formsun·der·pain, nounun·pain·ing, adjective

Synonyms for pain

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pain ON THESAURUS.COM

1–3. torture, misery, torment. 2. pang, twinge, stitch. 7. afflict, torment; trouble, grieve.

Synonym study

1–3. Pain , ache , agony , anguish are terms for sensations causing suffering or torment. Pain and ache usually refer to physical sensations (except heartache ); agony and anguish may be physical or mental. Pain suggests a sudden sharp twinge: a pain in one's ankle. Ache applies to a continuous pain, whether acute or dull: headache; muscular aches. Agony implies a continuous, excruciating, scarcely endurable pain: in agony from a wound. Anguish suggests not only extreme and long-continued pain, but also a feeling of despair. 4a. See care.

Antonyms for pain

3. joy, delight. 7. please.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for pains

cramp, fever, burn, sickness, soreness, agony, irritation, wound, strain, discomfort, illness, torment, misery, twinge, ache, trouble, injury, tenderness, spasm, heartache

Examples from the Web for pains

Contemporary Examples of pains

Lee would stay up late, unable to sleep from the pains he had in his back.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile
Robert Ward
January 3, 2015
In the not-so-distant future, an independent country, which belongs to Kurds, will rise from these wants, pains, fire and ashes.
Dear Turkish PM: It’s Time to Act to Save Kobani’s Kurds
Bahman Ghobani
October 8, 2014
It pains me to say this, in the year 2014, we are in a death match.
Gaza, You're No Good For My Marriage
Josh Robin
August 9, 2014
As much as it pains Americans to admit this, Ronaldo saved our asses.
Why It’s Still OK to Hate Sexy Bastard Cristiano Ronaldo After He Saved Team USA
Emily Shire
June 26, 2014
At the same time, interim government and military officials alike are at pains to emphasize the seriousness of their response.
On the Contraband Trail With Libya’s Gun Smugglers
Peter Schwartzstein
June 16, 2014

Historical Examples of pains

I have a French feather-bed there, which I have been at pains to keep these years back.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
He received a reproachful look from Mrs. Porter for his pains.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
The words, of her age, piqued me; and I spared no pains to make him forget them.
Tales And Novels, Volume 3 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
The blood trickled from his forehead; he complained of pains in his side and limbs.
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
What that principle is may well be worth the pains of enquiry.
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
David Hume

British Dictionary definitions for pains

pains

pl n

care, trouble, or effort (esp in the phrases take pains, be at pains to)

painful sensations experienced during contractions in childbirth; labour pains

pain

noun

the sensation of acute physical hurt or discomfort caused by injury, illness, etc

emotional suffering or mental distress

on pain of subject to the penalty of

Also called: pain in the neck, (taboo) pain in the arse informal a person or thing that is a nuisance

verb (tr)

to cause (a person) distress, hurt, grief, anxiety, etc

informal to annoy; irritate

Word Origin for pain

C13: from Old French peine, from Latin poena punishment, grief, from Greek poinē penalty

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pains

pain

late 13c., "punishment," especially for a crime; also "condition one feels when hurt, opposite of pleasure," from Old French peine "difficulty, woe, suffering, punishment, Hell's torments" (11c.), from Latin poena "punishment, penalty, retribution, indemnification" (in Late Latin also "torment, hardship, suffering"), from Greek poine "retribution, penalty, quit-money for spilled blood," from PIE *kwei- "to pay, atone, compensate" (see penal). The earliest sense in English survives in phrase on pain of death.

Phrase to give (someone) a pain "be annoying and irritating" is from 1908; localized as pain in the neck (1924) and pain in the ass (1934), though this last might have gone long unrecorded and be the original sense and the others euphemisms. Pains "great care taken (for some purpose)" is first recorded 1520s (in the singular in this sense, it is attested from c.1300). First record of pain-killer is from 1853.

pain

c.1300, "to exert or strain oneself, strive; endeavor," from Old French pener (v.) "to hurt, cause pain," from peine, and from Middle English peine (n.); see pain (n.). Transitive meaning "cause pain; inflict pain" is from late 14c. That of "to cause sorrow, grief, or unhappiness" also is from late 14c. Related: Pained; paining.

pains in Medicine