Synonyms of pain

pain 1 of 2

noun

ˈpān 

1

as in ache

a sharp unpleasant sensation usually felt in some specific part of the body

the child was crying because of a pain in her knee

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ache
• pang
• tingle
• sting
• stitch
• soreness
• swelling
• agony
• twinge
• prick
• discomfort
• sore
• suffering
• headache
• tenderness
• shoot
• anguish
• distress
• misery
• inflammation
• smart
• throe
• injury
• hurt
• torture
• torment
• harm
• sufferance
• toothache
• backache
• damage
• affliction
• detriment
• colic
• complaint
• gripe
• stomachache
• earache
• bellyache
• charley horse

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ease
• comfort
• easiness

2

as in distress

a state of great suffering of body or mind

a sprained ankle caused him great pain for a week

Synonyms & Similar Words

• distress
• agony
• anguish
• misery
• discomfort
• torment
• torture
• hurt
• sorrow
• tribulation
• sadness
• pang
• woe
• excruciation
• heartbreak
• travail
• hardship
• rack
• difficulty
• ache
• affliction
• strait(s)
• trouble
• danger
• heartache
• unhappiness
• emergency
• soreness
• cross
• crucible
• twinge
• trial
• joylessness
• stitch
• jeopardy
• pinch
• smarting
• rigor
• throe
• asperity

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• relief
• comfort
• consolation
• solace
• ease
• alleviation
• security
• peace
• assuagement
• well-being

3

as in care

pains plural strict attentiveness to what one is doing

asked the movers to take pains to be sure that they didn't damage anything while moving the furniture

Synonyms & Similar Words

• care
• carefulness
• attention
• scrupulousness
• conscientiousness
• observation
• closeness
• meticulousness
• meticulosity
• heed
• concentration
• watchfulness
• observance
• focus
• heedfulness
• responsibility
• effort
• vigilance
• mindfulness
• alertness
• trouble
• precision
• advertency
• painstaking
• punctiliousness
• advertence
• exactness
• bother
• irreproachability
• irreproachableness
• particularity
• dutifulness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• negligence
• inattentiveness
• heedlessness
• inattention
• inadvertence
• inadvertency
• inobservance

4

as in work

pains plural the active use of energy in producing a result

she was at pains to reassure us that everything would be fine

Synonyms & Similar Words

• work
• labor
• exertion
• effort
• trouble
• expenditure
• sweat
• while
• power
• toil
• drudgery
• elbow grease
• strain
• muscle
• energy
• travail
• might
• try
• slog
• dint
• trial
• grind
• stab
• attempt
• endeavor
• force
• pass
• essay
• go
• puissance
• shot
• whack
• fling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ease
• facility
• smoothness
• fluency
• inertia
• inaction
• inactivity
• laziness
• indolence
• idleness
• adroitness
• dormancy
• quiescence
• languor

5

as in nuisance

one who is obnoxiously annoying

sometimes that child, who apparently never tires of asking questions, can be such a pain

Synonyms & Similar Words

• nuisance
• annoyance
• pest
• headache
• annoyer
• tease
• pain in the neck
• bother
• gadfly
• persecutor
• teaser
• gnawer
• plague
• nudnik
• torturer
• tormentor
• interrupter
• heckler
• harrier
• harasser
• hassle
• molester

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• charmer
• comforter
• soother
• smoothy
• solacer

pain

2 of 2

verb

as in to ache

to feel or cause physical pain

my poor head was paining so from all that racket

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ache
• hurt
• throb
• tingle
• sting
• swell
• cramp
• anguish
• smart
• bite
• itch
• bleed
• torment
• suffer
• fester
• burn
• pinch
• nag
• torture
• rack
• twinge
• chafe
• agonize
• afflict
• pound
• harrow

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of pain

Noun

Every department that works on film and television has felt this pain, and post-production teams are no exception. — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 1 Sep. 2026

But his career has been derailed by multiple back and knee surgeries, car accidents and pain pill dependence. — ABC News, 1 Sep. 2026

Verb

Trigeminovascular System Activation Initiates Headache Pain The initiation of cortical spreading depression, which is linked to an aura, also activates the trigeminovascular system, a network of nerves and blood vessels in your head that senses pain and sends signals to your brain. — Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 30 Apr. 2026

His disaffection baffles his acquaintances and pains his tubercular wife (a superb Quinn Jackson), whose doctor (Lambert Tamin) has only contempt for her husband’s agonizing. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2026

Phrases Containing pain

• pain in the neck