# pain

/ˈpeɪn/ (US) · /pˈeɪn/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/pain
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. physical suffering

noun · CEFR A2

the unpleasant feeling you have in your body when you are hurt or ill.

For teachers: an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage.

- She felt a sharp pain in her knee after she tripped on the stairs.
- The patient described a persistent, dull pain in his lower back that intensified whenever he attempted to lift heavy objects.

Usage: Commonly used with 'in' to specify the body part.

### 2. mental distress

noun · CEFR B1

a feeling of great sadness or worry.

For teachers: emotional or mental suffering; acute distress or anguish.

- It took a long time for the emotional pain of the breakup to fade.
- The documentary captures the profound pain felt by families who were displaced during the conflict.

### 3. an annoying person/thing

noun · CEFR B1 · Informal

someone or something that is very annoying or difficult to deal with.

For teachers: a person or thing that is a source of irritation or nuisance.

- Filling out all these tax forms is a real pain.
- My younger brother can be a total pain when he keeps interrupting my study sessions.

Usage: Often used in the phrase 'a pain in the neck'.

### 4. great effort

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

the great care or effort you take to do something correctly.

For teachers: meticulous effort or care taken in the performance of a task.

- The chef took great pains to ensure every plate looked perfect.
- The historian took great pains to verify the accuracy of the primary sources before publishing the biography.

Usage: Almost always used in the plural form 'pains'.

### 5. to cause sadness

verb · CEFR B2

to make someone feel very sad or upset.

For teachers: to cause mental or emotional distress to someone.

- It pains me to see how much the old house has changed.
- It pained her deeply to admit that she could no longer support her friend's questionable decisions.

Usage: Usually takes a person as a direct object.

## Examples

- He felt a sharp pain in his knee while running.
- The doctor asked the patient to describe the intensity of the pain on a scale from one to ten.
- Chronic pain management often requires a multidisciplinary approach that combines physical therapy with psychological support to improve the patient's quality of life.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.