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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of pain
Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 24 Apr. 2026
The Biden administration had removed pentobarbital from the federal protocol over concerns about the potential for unnecessary pain and suffering.
—Arkansas Online, 24 Apr. 2026
ABC News, 27 Feb. 2026
Missing Barcelona pained Vowles and Williams as a whole.
—Luke Smith, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pain
Noun
Really, the entrance to that hell is a shot of a vending machine full of only red Gatorade, and the sculpting work that the sound team did to blend the grating atmospheric noise of the ER, Finneas’s tense score, and the key sound effects that connect us to Ashley’s fear and pain.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 24 Apr. 2026
The Biden administration had removed pentobarbital from the federal protocol over concerns about the potential for unnecessary pain and suffering.
—Arkansas Online, 24 Apr. 2026
Verb
The disappearances also pain me.
—ABC News, 27 Feb. 2026
Missing Barcelona pained Vowles and Williams as a whole.
—Luke Smith, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pain
Noun
-
Mary Jannotta sliced meat and cheese behind deli counters at Acme and Pathmark supermarkets in the Philadelphia suburbs for decades, developing aches that came with working on her feet.—
Craig R. McCoy,
CNN Money,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Growing up, Curp wrestled with fatigue and aches, not only on her skin, but also in her joints.—
Xitlalic Montelongo,
Miami Herald,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Mavromatis, in a complaint filed on Wednesday in North Carolina federal court, alleges violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act, wrongful discharge and intentional infliction of emotional distress.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Her suit accuses the company of violating the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, intentionally inflicting emotional distress, and wrongfully terminating her.—
Irin Carmon,
Vulture,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Detroit failed to take care of the ball when the Magic scored 23 points off 20 takeaways.—
Jason Beede,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Older adults tend to begin treatment within a month of symptoms starting — but young adults face an average seven-month delay before getting care.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Your goal isn’t to get anyone fired, but more to help redefine boundaries on intimacy at work.—
Harriette Cole,
Mercury News,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Detective Torres pulled in four officers from the department's Gun Violence Initiative unit, a team of intermediate detectives trained for exactly this kind of boots-on-ground work.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
If data centers eventually are included, for example, neighbors could take a hit due to impacts on electricity costs, water access, industrial noise and other nuisances that can come into play when a megaproject moves in next door.—
David Greising,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Not all ants are bad for the garden—some help with soil health and pest control—but fire ants and carpenter ants can be serious nuisances or hazards.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Furthermore, Mike Brown’s decision to play six minutes in the first half with neither Jalen Brunson nor Karl-Anthony Towns on the floor hurt New York immensely.—
Darnell Mayberry,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Bad word of mouth was hurting advance ticket sales.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
At a recent sleepover, my 15-year-old son and his 14-year-old friend Charlie, driven by a pang of nostalgia, chose to watch the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics on YouTube.—
Luba Kassova,
Fortune,
1 Apr. 2026
-
What Brooks proffers is not the philosophy these queries require but a kind of pharmacology—a pill designed to alleviate every last pang.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Those who suffered through chickenpox as kids likely remember the agony of its itchy rash.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
24 Apr. 2026
-
To encompass the story, about a miracle from 847, when Pope Leo IV stopped a fire with a blessing, Raphael brings you into the fresco through the unshod feet of a woman in agony and leaves you near the very back, with a tiny and serene Leo IV.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pain. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.
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