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to pain

to pain

45 4.9
To make someone feel sad or upset
  • verb
  • /peɪn/
translation icon : apenar
  • It pains me to say this, but you're broke, my Queen.

And you know, it pains you as well, right?

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Examples

  • "But the fact is, and it pains me to say, the fact is we sometimes make mistakes."

    Academic text (2009)
  • The reason this pains me so much is that we're still discussing this.

  • And you know, it pains you as well, right?

  • And I, and it pains me that I got too much pride.

  • Stop it, it pains me day and night.

  • I know what pains you, Peter.

  • If it still pains you tomorrow, I'll call and arrange an appointment.

  • It pains me to hear you say that, Mark.

  • You don't know how it pains me to make this decision.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • It pains me to see my friend in such distress over his lost job.

Synonyms

to hurt
vsto pain
1.0

Make someone suffer physical or emotional pain

focuses only on causing emotional upset rather than physical injury
to wound
vsto pain
110 5.7

To hurt a person's feelings deeply

is more general and may be less long lasting
to grieve
vsto pain
95 4.1

To make someone feel very sad

is less intense and not limited to deep sorrow
to sadden
vsto pain
76 2.3

To make someone feel sad

is broader, covering other emotional distress beyond simple sadness
to afflict
vsto pain
71 6.0

Cause pain or trouble to people, animals and places

is more about causing sadness or upset rather than broad suffering
to break someone's heart
vsto pain
  • Informal
34 3.4

To make someone very sad because of love or disappointment

is broader and not limited to romantic or personal relationships
to distress
vsto pain
32 4.1

Cause someone to feel pain, worry or serious problems

is the general act of making someone sad or upset
to sting
vsto pain
26 3.3

To feel sharp emotional pain after someone says something hurtful

is more general and not only sudden or sharp upset
to anguish
vsto pain
4 7.3

To cause someone to feel very strong pain or worry

is usually less extreme and more general emotional upset

Idioms

pain in the ass
  • Offensive
109 9.2

A person or thing that is very annoying and difficult to deal with

To understand when someone is having a hard time and show you care

pain in the neck
  • Informal
11 4.1

A person or thing that is annoying and causes trouble

To have no pain because of medicine or alcohol

To understand and share someone's sadness when they are having a hard time

1 7.4

Something that causes trouble or makes people annoyed

Make something good from pain or a bad situation

Phrasal Verbs

Shake suddenly and very hard because of strong pain

Compounds

60 2.7

A feeling of discomfort in the chest that may mean a heart or lung problem

A feeling of hurt in the stomach area between the chest and hips

real pain
  • Informal
24 5.3

Something that causes a lot of trouble and annoyance

15 1.1

A tablet you take to make body pain less

10 3.3

A sudden strong feeling of hurt in one small part of the body

royal pain
  • Offensive
8 8.0

A very annoying person or thing that causes trouble

pain threshold
  • Specialized
5 4.2

The smallest amount of pressure or touch that causes pain

1 3.4

Strong pain in the stomach and lower back when a woman gives birth

referred pain
  • Specialized
1 7.2

Pain felt in one part of the body that comes from another part

phantom limb pain
  • Specialized
1 7.2

An uncomfortable feeling that seems to come from a missing arm or leg

1 4.4

An unpleasant feeling in the face, often near the jaw or cheek

pain sensation
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A feeling of hurt in the body caused by injury or illness

Very strong pain that can make you cry

lumbar pain
  • Specialized
3.7

Pain in the lower back that often comes from muscle strain or injury

pain unit
  • Specialized
6.6

A number used to show how strong a person's pain is

pain in the anus
  • Offensive
9.4

Someone or something that causes a lot of trouble and annoyance

8.8

A natural drive that makes people seek pleasure and avoid pain, often in early childhood

unutterable pain
  • Literature
8.6

A feeling of pain too strong to describe in words

How Painful

to devastate
221 4.9
to pain
45 4.9
to hurt
1.0
to upset
362 1.0
to disappoint
492 1.0

Surface Forms

pain infinitive
pained past
pained past participle
paining present participle
pains third person singular

Etymology

The word pain (as a verb) comes from the Latin poena, meaning 'penalty' or 'punishment', and it grew to mean causing emotional hurt too, which is why we say 'it pains me' when something makes us sad or upset.