pained

pained — adjective

1. showing in your face, voice, or manner that a remark or situation has hurt your

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

showing in your face, voice, or manner that a remark or situation has hurt your feelings or made you uncomfortable.

Example

Lena looked pained when her uncle joked about her failed driving test.

look pained when reacting to a hurtful remark

A pained smile crossed Mr Chen's face after the rude comment.

collocation: a pained smile

Common collocations
  • look pained
  • sound pained
  • a pained smile
  • a pained expression
  • a pained laugh
  • a pained voice
Synonyms
  • hurt

    broader and more direct; often names the feeling itself rather than the visible expression

  • upset

    more general; can describe many kinds of distress, not only a strained look or voice

  • offended

    narrower; stresses feeling insulted or disrespected

  • strained

    often used for smiles or voices; can suggest effort as well as discomfort

Antonyms
  • relaxed

    showing ease rather than discomfort

  • cheerful

    showing obvious pleasure instead of hurt feelings

  • unbothered

    not showing that the situation caused any emotional discomfort

Grammar Patterns

look pained

sound pained

a pained smile/expression/voice/laugh

Usage Note

Most often appears with signs other people can notice, such as a smile, expression, laugh, or voice, or after linking verbs like 'look' and 'sound'. It usually describes an outward reaction rather than a direct statement of inner emotion.

Common Mistakes

She was pained with his joke.
She looked pained by his joke.
this adjective usually describes a visible reaction and commonly appears with 'look' or 'sound'.
I am pained today because of homework.
I feel upset today because of homework.' / 'I looked pained when the teacher mentioned it.
'pained' is less common for plain self-report and more common for an expression or tone others notice.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Pained' is useful when another person can see or hear emotional discomfort in someone's expression, smile, or voice. 'Hurt' is broader and often names the feeling directly, so a person can say 'I felt hurt' without focusing on how they looked. 'Upset' is even wider and can cover sadness, worry, or anger from many causes. 'Offended' is narrower: it usually suggests that a remark or action felt rude or disrespectful. 'Strained' overlaps most with visible signs such as a strained smile, but it can also suggest effort or tension, not only hurt feelings. A guest may look pained after an awkward joke, feel hurt for hours, sound upset on the phone, or seem offended by a rude question.

pained ↗hurt ↗upset ↗offended ↗strained

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • visibly pained
  • deeply pained
  • slightly pained

Phrases

  • look pained
  • sound pained
  • a pained smile
  • a pained expression

Prepositions

  • pained by
  • pained at

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

This adjective grew from the English verb 'pain', with the common '-ed' ending that often describes a resulting state. 'Pain' came into Middle English through Old French from Latin 'poena', which first meant 'penalty' and then developed the sense of suffering or distress. In modern English, 'pained' often keeps that idea of distress, but in this sense it usually points to a visible or audible sign of emotional discomfort.