Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
pains

pains

3 4.7
Great care and effort to do something well
  • noun
  • /peɪnz/
translation icon : esfuerzo
  • Did they take any pains to get to know me at all on that date?

And that wouldn't be possible without pains.

Examples

  • The artist took considerable pains to capture the emotions in her painting.

  • God yield us for your pains, and thank us for your trouble.

  • IF YOU'D ACCEPTED MY BROTHER AS YOU OUGHT, YOU MIGHT NOW HAVE BEEN ON THE POINT OF MARRIAGE, AND HENRY WOULD HAVE TAKEN NO PAINS TO BE ON TERMS WITH MRS. RUSHWORTH AGAIN.

    Mansfield Park (1999)

  • She took great pains to ensure that every detail of the project was perfect.

  • He went to extra pains to prepare a wonderful dinner for his guests.

Synonyms

strain
vspains
72 4.3

A quality or feeling that runs through something, like an idea in a speech

implies careful effort without the idea of stress or force
great pains
vspains
9 4.2

A lot of careful effort to do something well

is the plain term without the strong explicit emphasis
striving
vspains
7 3.5

A strong effort to reach a goal

emphasizes the result-focused care or effort rather than the ongoing process
nisus
vspains
  • Archaic
9.9

A strong ongoing effort to reach a goal

focuses on care and effort rather than sustained intensity

Antonyms

negligence
  • Specialized
80 6.5

Failure to take proper care that causes harm or loss

carelessness
16 2.8

Lack of attention that causes mistakes or accidents

Idioms

to take great pains
  • Formal
6 5.2

Make a lot of effort and be careful about small details

to be at pains
  • Formal
3 7.7

To try very hard to do something carefully

at pains
  • Formal
2 7.3

Trying very hard to make something clear and avoid mistakes

Compounds

great pains
9 4.2

A lot of careful effort to do something well

growing pains
  • Informal
8 4.0

Problems a person, group, or business has when they start to grow

labor pains
  • US
1 3.6

Pain a woman feels during childbirth when the womb tightens

growing pains
1 3.5

Aches in the legs or joints that children feel at night

How Careful

pains
3 4.7
care
555 1.0
attention
167 2.0
effort
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

pain singular
pains plural

Morphology

pains = pain (semi-transparent) = pain + s

Formed from 'pain' + plural '-s', but the idiomatic sense 'take pains' meaning 'make great effort' is a metaphorical/idiomatic shift not fully predictable from 'pain' alone.

Etymology

Pains comes from the same root as pain, which long ago meant 'hurt' or 'punishment'. A helpful way to remember it is to think of 'taking pains' as being ready to feel a little 'hurt' or trouble to do something carefully, so pains now means the care or effort someone gives to do a good job.