pained

1 of 2

adjective

ˈpānd How to pronounce pained (audio)
Synonyms of painednext
1
: feeling pain : hurt
2
: expressing or involving pain
a pained expression
with pained surprise

pained

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of pain entry 2

Examples of pained in a Sentence

Adjective She wore a pained expression on her face. He truly looked pained when he heard the news.
Recent Examples on the Web
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Adjective
The actors speak quietly, as if fearful of being overheard, whether or not there is anyone around to hear, and often regard one another with pained or stunned expressions. — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026 Cordell, a polite man wearing fatigues and a pained expression, sat nearby. — Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026 A lot of this work is almost unreadable now, the pained efforts of young eggheads twisting themselves into rhetorical knots over the moral conundrums posed by real-world applications of Marxist principles. — Literary Hub, 21 July 2026 Just as the young woman is set to return to her hometown following the end of her postgraduate studies, a girl’s body is discovered there, unravelling painful memories of past trauma and sending Sofia through a pained process of self-reflection. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 9 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for pained

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of pained was in the 14th century

Rhymes for pained

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Browse Nearby Words

Paine
pained
painful
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Cite this Entry

“Pained.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pained. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

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