INDEX:
1. pain
2. when a part of your body feels painful
3. to feel pain
4. when something makes someone feel pain
5. when there is no pain
RELATED WORDS
to reduce pain : ↑ REDUCE (2)
see also
↑ HURT/INJURE
↑ ILL/SICK
↑ ILLNESS/DISEASE
↑ SUFFER
↑ MEDICAL TREATMENT
↑ DOCTOR
↑ DRUG
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1. pain
▷ pain /peɪn/ [countable/uncountable noun]
the feeling you have when part of your body hurts :
▪ The pain is getting worse.
▪ You won’t feel any pain during the operation.
▪ He told the doctor he was suffering from chest pains.
a pain in your chest/leg/back etc
▪ In college, Durban began to suffer from headaches and pain in his arms and legs
severe/excruciating pain
very bad pain
▪ A slipped disc can cause severe back pain.
ease the pain
make you feel less pain
▪ The drug is often used to ease the pain of dying cancer patients.
labor pains (American) / labour pains (British)
before giving birth
▪ Kerry had to drive herself to the hospital when the labor pains began.
▷ ache /eɪk/ [countable noun]
a pain that continues for a long time but is not very sharp :
▪ The ache in my leg muscles had almost gone.
dull ache
a continuous annoying ache
▪ Lisa felt a dull ache spreading up her arm.
▷ headache/toothache/backache/stomach ache /ˈhedeɪk, ˈtuːθ-eɪk, ˈbækeɪk, ˈstʌmək eɪk/ [countable/uncountable noun]
a continuous pain in a part of your body :
have/get a headache
▪ I always get a headache when I’ve been using the computer.
have toothache/backache/stomach ache
British
▪ I’m not surprised you have stomach ache - you eat too fast.
have a toothache/a backache/a stomach ache
American
▪ I had a backache after fifteen minutes of shovelling snow.
a splitting headache
a very bad headache
▪ We were planning to go out last night, but Marcia had a splitting headache.
▷ aches and pains /ˌeɪks ən ˈpeɪnz/ [noun phrase]
many small pains which you feel at the same time, especially when you move, for example as the result of too much exercise or growing old :
▪ Grandma said that apart from a few aches and pains she was feeling quite well.
▪ Jenny ran slower and slower, complaining all the way of various aches and pains.
▷ spasm /ˈspæz ə m/ [countable noun]
a sudden sharp pain which makes your body or part of your body shake uncontrollably for a short time :
▪ He lay on the ground, breathless and frightened, waiting for the next spasm.
spasm of pain
▪ A spasm of pain twisted Cheviot’s face.
muscle spasm
▪ The muscle spasms started in his lower left leg and spread upwards.
▷ twinge /twɪndʒ/ [countable noun]
a sudden but not severe pain that comes and then disappears quickly :
▪ I’d had the odd twinge now and again, but my heart-attack was totally unexpected.
twinge of pain/rheumatism etc
▪ George felt a twinge of pain in his ankle from when he had slipped on the ice.
2. when a part of your body feels painful
▷ painful /ˈpeɪnf ə l/ [adjective]
a part of your body that feels painful makes you feel pain :
▪ Jim’s knee was still painful where he had fallen on it.
▪ The child suffered painful stomach cramps and vomiting after drinking one of the contaminated drinks.
▷ sore /sɔːʳ/ [adjective]
a part of your body that is sore hurts when you touch or use it, and is often red :
▪ His eyes looked red and sore, as if he had been rubbing them.
▪ Martin was unable to score at all in the game, complaining of a sore knee.
sore throat
▪ She missed more than ten performances that year due to a persistent sore throat and cough.
▷ tender /ˈtendəʳ/ [adjective]
a part of the body that is tender is painful when it is touched :
▪ My mouth was tender and swollen where he had hit me.
▪ Now I’m going to press down on several places around your knee, and you tell me when it feels tender.
▷ hurt /hɜːʳt/ [intransitive verb]
if a part of your body hurts, you feel pain in it, for example because you have hit it or cut it, or because you are ill :
▪ My neck felt stiff and my shoulder hurt.
▪ I fell and banged my knee, and it really hurts.
▷ ache /eɪk/ [intransitive verb]
if a part of your body aches, you feel a pain in it that is continuous but not very strong - use this about pains in your arms, legs, or back, or in your head or stomach :
▪ My arms ached from carrying all the groceries.
▪ She felt hot and her head was beginning to ache.
▪ I went to dance class last week, and I’ve been aching ever since.
▷ sting /stɪŋ/ [intransitive verb]
to hurt with a sudden sharp pain for a short time - use this about your eyes or your skin :
▪ The smoke made our eyes sting.
▪ His cheek stung where his mother had slapped him.
▷ throb /θrɒbǁθrɑːb/ [intransitive verb]
if a part of your body throbs you feel pain that seems to get stronger and weaker in a regular repeated pattern :
▪ By late afternoon my head was throbbing, and I couldn’t see straight.
▪ He limped heavily, nursing his throbbing ankle.
a throbbing pain
▪ I felt a throbbing pain in my left shin, and pulled up my trouser leg to see what was causing it.
3. to feel pain
▷ feel/have a pain in /ˌfiːl, ˌhæv ə ˈpeɪn ɪn/ [verb phrase not in progressive]
to have a pain in a particular part of your body :
▪ She came into casualty complaining that she had a pain in her side.
▪ The next morning, after feeling a sharp pain in his fingers, Gonzalez was treated for frostbite at City Hospital.
▷ be in pain /biː ɪn ˈpeɪn/ [verb phrase]
to be experiencing a lot of pain :
▪ Young children cry if they are in pain, if they are hungry or if they are left alone.
▪ Someone was crying, as if they were in pain.
be in constant pain
be in pain all the time
▪ Some of these patients are very sick and in constant pain.
be in a lot of pain/be in great pain
▪ Caroline’s been in a lot of pain since the operation.
▷ be in agony /biː ɪn ˈægəni/ [verb phrase]
to feel a lot of very severe pain :
▪ He was in agony. We had to carry him up the stairs.
▪ My mother lived for four more days, but she was in agony.
4. when something makes someone feel pain
▷ hurt /hɜːʳt/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
if something or someone hurts you, they make you feel pain :
▪ Did it hurt when they stuck the needle in?
▪ Stop it - you’re hurting me.
▷ sting /stɪŋ/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to cause a sudden sharp pain on your skin or in your eyes for a short time :
▪ The antiseptic might sting a little.
▪ The smoke stung my eyes.
▷ irritate /ˈɪrɪteɪt, ˈɪrəteɪt/ [transitive verb]
if a substance irritates a part of your body, especially your eyes or your skin, it makes it become sore :
▪ The pollen irritated my eyes, which were red and streaming with tears.
▪ Nineteen percent of women will still use a beauty product, even if it irritates their skin.
irritation /ˌɪrɪˈteɪʃ ə n, ˌɪrəˈteɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
▪ Stop using the cream immediately if it causes irritation.
▷ agonizing/excruciating /ˈægənaɪzɪŋ, ɪkˈskruːʃieɪtɪŋ/ [adjective]
if pain or a particular movement is agonizing or excruciating, it is extremely strong so that you are almost unable to move or do something :
▪ The pain moved to my elbow, and it became agonizing to even lift my arm.
▪ The excruciating pain in his kidneys made him gasp.
▷ be agony /biː ˈægəni/ [verb phrase] especially British, informal
if something you do or something someone does to you is agony, it hurts a lot :
▪ It was agony having my tooth removed - I don’t think the dentist knew what he was doing.
▪ Climbing five flights of stairs with all those bags was absolute bloody agony.
5. when there is no pain
▷ not hurt /nɒt ˈhɜːʳt/ [verb phrase]
if something does not hurt, it is not painful :
▪ I twisted my ankle a little, but it doesn’t hurt.
▪ Don’t worry - it’s a very quick procedure and it won’t hurt.
▷ painless /ˈpeɪnləs/ [adjective]
something that is painless does not hurt - use this especially when someone is worried that it might hurt :
▪ The operation is simple and painless.
▷ not feel a thing /nɒt ˌfiːl ə ˈθɪŋ/ [verb phrase] spoken
to not feel any pain at all :
▪ Don’t worry about the injection - you won’t feel a thing.
▪ The guys who were fighting were so drunk, I’m sure they didn’t feel a thing.