pain
- 01 A2 Elementary
n.the unpleasant feeling you have in your body when you are hurt or ill.
n.an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage.
Simple“She felt a sharp pain in her knee after she tripped on the stairs.”
In context“The patient described a persistent, dull pain in his lower back that intensified whenever he attempted to lift heavy objects.”
UsageCommonly used with 'in' to specify the body part.
PitfallI have a big pain in my leg. I have a bad pain in my leg.In English, physical pain is described as 'bad', 'sharp', or 'severe', but not 'big'.
- 02 B1 Intermediate
n.a feeling of great sadness or worry.
n.emotional or mental suffering; acute distress or anguish.
Simple“It took a long time for the emotional pain of the breakup to fade.”
In context“The documentary captures the profound pain felt by families who were displaced during the conflict.”
- 03 B1 Intermediate
n.someone or something that is very annoying or difficult to deal with.
n.a person or thing that is a source of irritation or nuisance.
Simple“Filling out all these tax forms is a real pain.”
In context“My younger brother can be a total pain when he keeps interrupting my study sessions.”
UsageOften used in the phrase 'a pain in the neck'.
- 04 C1 Advanced
n.the great care or effort you take to do something correctly.
n.meticulous effort or care taken in the performance of a task.
Simple“The chef took great pains to ensure every plate looked perfect.”
In context“The historian took great pains to verify the accuracy of the primary sources before publishing the biography.”
UsageAlmost always used in the plural form 'pains'.
Antonyms - 05 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to make someone feel very sad or upset.
v.to cause mental or emotional distress to someone.
Simple“It pains me to see how much the old house has changed.”
In context“It pained her deeply to admit that she could no longer support her friend's questionable decisions.”
UsageUsually takes a person as a direct object.
Various origins: * A variant of Paine. * Borrowed from Spanish Paín.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.