Pain

Pronunciation

• IPA: /peɪn/
• Rhymes: -eɪn
• Homophones: pane

Origin

From Old French and Anglo-Norman peine, paine, from Latin poena ("punishment, pain"), from Ancient Greek ποινή (poinê, "bloodmoney, were-gild, fine, price paid, penalty"). Compare German Pein, Dutch pijn, Afrikaans pyn.

Full definition of pain

Noun

1. (countable and uncountable) An ache or bodily suffering, or an instance of this; an unpleasant sensation, resulting from a derangement of functions, disease, or injury by violence; hurt.The greatest difficulty lies in treating patients with chronic pain.I had to stop running when I started getting pains in my feet.
2. (uncountable) The condition or fact of suffering or anguish especially mental, as opposed to pleasure; torment; distress; sadness; grief; solicitude; disquietude.In the final analysis, pain is a fact of life.The pain of departure was difficult to bear.
3. (countable) An annoying person or thing.Your mother is a right pain.
4. (uncountable, obsolete) Suffering inflicted as punishment or penalty.You may not leave this room on pain of death.Interpose, on pain of my displeasure. — DrydenWe will, by way of mulct or pain, lay it upon him. — Bacon
5. Labour; effort; pains.

Usage notes

Adjectives often used with "pain": mild, moderate, severe, intense, excruciating, debilitating, acute, chronic, sharp, dull, burning, steady, throbbing, stabbing, spasmodic, etc.

Synonyms

• (an annoying person or thing) pest

Antonyms

• pleasure

Hyponyms

• agony
• anguish
• pang
• neuropathic pain
• nociceptive pain
• phantom pain
• psychogenic pain

Derived terms

Related terms

Verb

1. (transitive) To hurt; to put to bodily uneasiness or anguish; to afflict with uneasy sensations of any degree of intensity; to torment; to torture.The wound pained him.
2. (transitive) To render uneasy in mind; to disquiet; to distress; to grieve.It pains me to say that I must let you go.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To inflict suffering upon as a penalty; to punish.

Anagrams

• NIPA, nipa