1
: feeling pain : hurt
2
: expressing or involving pain
a pained expression
with pained surprise
Examples of pained in a Sentence
She wore a pained expression on her face.
He truly looked pained when he heard the news.
Recent Examples on the Web
The increasingly obvious awfulness of Dave’s book gives Smollett some great reaction work amid all Michelle’s pained determination.
—
Alison Herman, Variety, 28 June 2025
Bates is pained to see teenagers (representing 12% of the city population), brazenly and without recompense, running around, destroying the lives of others, and also for those whose lives were cut short in middle age by said juveniles.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 6 June 2025
Native American children sit with pained faces, hair cut short, sadness in their eyes.
—Lisa Jhung, Outside Online, 23 May 2025
The camera lingers for too long on his pained, Grecian-bust features.
—Judy Berman, Time, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pained
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Alison Herman, Variety, 28 June 2025
Bates is pained to see teenagers (representing 12% of the city population), brazenly and without recompense, running around, destroying the lives of others, and also for those whose lives were cut short in middle age by said juveniles.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 6 June 2025
Native American children sit with pained faces, hair cut short, sadness in their eyes.
—Lisa Jhung, Outside Online, 23 May 2025
The camera lingers for too long on his pained, Grecian-bust features.
—Judy Berman, Time, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pained
Cite this Entry
“Pained.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pained. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share