The term “pain” occupies a significant position within the English language, serving as a concept that allows writers and speakers to articulate discomfort, distress, or suffering with precision and depth. The richness of English lies in its vast and diverse vocabulary, offering a plethora of terms that can deepen our expressions and add intensity to our conversations. In this article, we investigate the word “pain” and its synonyms, exploring the nuances and subtle differences that each alternative presents.
“Pain”– Meaning
The noun “pain” refers to a physical sensation or discomfort that a person experiences, often indicating an injury or illness. As a verb, “pain” refers to causing physical or emotional discomfort or suffering. Another word for “pain” is “ache” or “to bother.” However, more synonyms will be stated in the following article.
On our overview page for synonyms, you can find the best options of synonyms for a vast variety of words that are used in academic writing.
“Pain” – General synonyms
The noun as well as the verb “pain” has a variety of meanings that will be explained and listed in the subheadings below.
“Pain” in the sense of physical suffering
Synonyms of the word pain in the sense of physical suffering will be listed below.
- Ache
- Affliction
- Agony
- Burn
- Catch
- Convulsion
- Cramp
- Crick
- Discomfort
- Distress
- Fever
- Gripe
- Hurt
- Illness
- Injury
- Irritation
- Laceration
- Malady
- Misery
- Pang
- Paroxysm
- Prick
- Sickness
- Smarting
- Soreness
- Spasm
- Sting
- Stitch
- Strain
- Tenderness
- Throb
- Throe
- Tingle
- Torment
- Torture
- Trouble
- Twinge
- Wound
“Pain” in the sense of mental suffering
Synonyms of the word pain in the sense of mental suffering will be listed below.
- Affliction
- Agony
- Anguish
- Anxiety
- Bitterness
- Despondency
- Distress
- Grief
- Heartache
- Hurt
- Malaise
- Martyrdom
- Misery
- Rack
- Sadness
- Shock
- Suffering
- Torment
- Torture
- Travail
- Tribulation
- Woe
- Worry
- Wretchedness
“Pain” in the sense of problem
Synonyms of the word pain in the sense of problem will be listed below.
- Aggravation
- Annoyance
- Bore
- Bother
- Drag
- Effort
- Exertion
- Irritation
- Nuisance
- Pest
- Trouble
- Vexation
“Pain” in the sense of to bother
Synonyms of the word pain in the sense of to bother will be listed below.
- Ache
- Afflict
- Aggrieve
- Agonize
- Ail
- Anguish
- Annoy
- Bite
- Cause discomfort
- Chafe
- Chasten
- Constrain
- Convulse
- Cut to the quick
- Discomfort
- Disquiet
- Distress
- Exasperate
- Excruciate
- Gall
- Grieve
- Gripe
- Harass
- Harm
- Harrow
- Hit where one lives
- Hurt
- Inflame
- Injure
- Irk
- Irritate
- Nick
- Prick
- Punish
- Rack
- Rile
- Sadden
- Smart
- Sting
- Strain
- Stress
- Suffer
- Throb
- Tingle
- Torment
- Torture
- Upset
- Vex
- Worry
- Wound
“Pain” – Synonyms used in academic writing
In academic writing, the term “pain” is often used to describe subjective experiences reported by study participants, such as pain severity, frequency, and duration. The verb may be used to describe the potential side effects of a medical treatment or intervention, or to describe the emotional distress caused by a particular event or situation. Synonyms for pain that can be used for an academic piece of writing include “discomfort,” “to cause discomfort,” and “to hurt.”
Are you looking for suitable synonyms for “pain” for your academic paper? Have a look at the table below with the top suggestions from our BachelorPrint-Team.
| ”Pain” Synonyms | Examples |
| Discomfort | The participants had to rate the pain they experienced during physical therapy. |
| The participants had to rate the discomfort they experienced during physical therapy. | |
| To cause discomfort | The new ergonomic design reduced the pain level caused by prolonged computer use. |
| Prolonged computer use caused discomfort, which the new ergonomic design reduced. | |
| To hurt | The chemotherapy treatment may cause the patient to pain for several days afterward. |
| The chemotherapy treatment may cause the patient to hurt for several days afterward. |
