Synonyms of pains

pains 1 of 2

noun

plural of pain

1

as in attention

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

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

2

as in effort

the active use of energy in producing a result

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

pains

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of pain

as in aches

to feel or cause physical pain

my poor head was paining so from all that racket

Synonyms & Similar Words

• aches
• hurts
• throbs
• tingles
• smarts
• swells
• cramps
• stings
• itches
• bites
• bleeds
• torments
• nags
• racks
• twinges
• burns
• tortures
• chafes
• suffers
• pinches
• pounds
• anguishes
• festers
• agonizes
• afflicts
• harrows

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of pains

Noun

Bondi's public embrace of the president, however, marked a sharp departure from her predecessors, who generally took pains to maintain an arm's-length distance from the White House to protect the impartiality of investigations and prosecutions. —Arkansas Online, 3 Apr. 2026

Whether biennials or museum shows, exhibitions are spaces for learning about images, the world, and the pains and delights of being alive. —Raphael Fonseca, Artforum, 2 Apr. 2026

Embracing, supporting and protecting the president Bondi’s public embrace of the president, however, marked a sharp departure from her predecessors, who generally took pains to maintain an arm’s-length distance from the White House to protect the impartiality of investigations and prosecutions. —Michelle L. Price, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2026

The Mets struggled to hit with runners in scoring position last season and took great pains to figure out why. —Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 2 Apr. 2026

One associate dean couched the misstep as a result of learning pains tied to the adoption of new technology. —Emily Hodgson Anderson, The Conversation, 25 Mar. 2026

Tagovailoa, sporting a gray T-shirt and white ball cap, went through the pains and shortcomings of his past, his expectations for 2026 and the quarterback battle that awaits him in Flowery Branch. —Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 24 Mar. 2026

Where the book took pains to explain how Rocky’s biology worked in a scientific manner, thus setting up Grace’s attempt at saving him based on this knowledge, the movie does not. —Matthew Razak, Space.com, 23 Mar. 2026

Paktyawal began complaining of shortness of breath and chest pains Friday evening while in a holding room at the Dallas ICE field office and was taken to the hospital for treatment, the agency said. —Aarón Torres, Dallas Morning News, 19 Mar. 2026

Verb

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

But regret pains them like a knot in their shoulders. —Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2025