pain 1 S2 W2 / peɪn / 名词

1 [可数和不可数名词] the feeling you have when part of your body hurts :

The pain is getting worse.

pain in

She felt a sharp pain in her leg.

Greg was in a lot of pain . → growing pains ( 2 )

2 [可数和不可数名词] the feeling of unhappiness you have when you are sad, upset etc :

the pain and grief of bereavement

cause (somebody) pain/inflict pain on somebody

She hated to say the words, for fear of causing pain.

3 be a pain (in the neck) ( also be a pain in the ass/arse/backside/butt not polite ) spoken to be very annoying :

There were times when Joe could be a real pain in the neck.

It’s a pain, having to go upstairs to make the coffee every time.

4 take/go to (great) pains to do something ( also take pains with/over something ) to make a special effort to do something :

He’s taken great pains to improve his image.

5 be at pains to do something to be especially careful to make sure people understand what you are saying or what you plan to do :

Roy was at pains to point out that English was the only exam he’d ever failed.

6 for your pains as a reward for something you worked to achieve – used especially when this is disappointing :

I fetched the file, and all I got for my pains was a dirty look from Simon.

7 no pain, no gain used to say that you can only achieve something, for example become fitter, by suffering or working hard

8 on/under pain of death at the risk of being killed as punishment, if you do not obey :

Communist activity was prohibited on pain of death.

COLLOCATIONS

形容词

bad Later that evening, the pain was really bad.

terrible/awful I woke up with a terrible pain in my side.

severe/intense Ever since the accident, Mike’s suffered from severe back pain.

excruciating (= very severe ) The pain in my eye was excruciating.

a sharp pain (= short but severe ) She felt a sharp pain in the back of her throat.

a slight pain (= not severe ) I’ve got a slight pain in my side.

a dull pain (= a slight but continuous pain ) There was a dull pain in his lower jaw.

a nagging pain (= felt all the time ) Rob felt fine, apart from a nagging pain in his left wrist.

chronic pain (= pain that you suffer from for long periods of time ) Many of the elderly patients suffer chronic pain.

a shooting pain (= a severe pain that goes from one part of your body to another ) The shooting pains in her arms and legs slowly began to die away.

a searing pain (= very severe, as if you have been burnt ) His elbow struck the side of the table, sending a searing pain through his arm.

a stabbing pain (= sharp and sudden ) Marcus heard a shot and felt a stabbing pain at the back of his ankle.

a throbbing pain (= a pain that gets stronger and then weaker, in a steady continuous beat ) I’ve still got this throbbing pain in my leg.

back/chest/stomach etc pain Many people suffer from back pain.

abdominal pain Several of the hotel’s guests had persistent abdominal pain and diarrhoea.

physical pain He couldn’t stand physical pain.

labour pains British English , labor pains American English (= felt by a woman at the time she is having a baby ) Becky was at work when labour pains began.

动词

have a pain I’ve got a terrible pain in my stomach.

feel pain The dentist told me that I wouldn’t feel any pain.

be in pain Despite being in great pain, he managed to call for help.

suffer (from) pain She suffers from chronic pain in her legs.

inflict pain The guards enjoyed inflicting pain on them.

relieve/ease pain ( also alleviate pain formal ) (= make it less severe ) Exercise can help to relieve lower back pain.

experience pain formal Animals caught in the trap experience great pain before they die.

complain of pain (= say that you have a pain in a part of your body ) After we finished our run, Tom complained of pains in his chest.

the pain gets worse If the pain gets any worse, see your doctor.

the pain goes away ( also the pain subsides formal ) (= becomes less severe ) He lay still until the pain had subsided to a dull ache.

the pain comes and goes (= keeps starting and stopping ) The pain comes and goes but it’s never too severe.

pain + NOUN

pain relief (= a drug or treatment that makes pain less severe ) These drugs offer effective pain relief for the very sick.

sb’s pain threshold (= their ability to bear pain ) Everyone has a different pain threshold.

短语

aches and pains Everyone has a few aches and pains when they get older.

COMMON ERRORS

► Do not say ’ big pain ‘. Say terrible pain or severe pain .

THESAURUS

pain 名词 [可数和不可数名词] the feeling when part of your body hurts : A broken leg can cause a lot of pain. | He felt a sharp pain in his chest.

ache 名词 [可数和不可数名词] a continuous pain, especially one that is not very bad. Most commonly used in compounds such as headache , toothache , and backache : I felt an ache in my back after decorating all day. | Driving gives me a headache . | I’ve got stomach ache . | Do you have earache ?

twinge 名词 [可数名词] a sudden slight pain that comes and then disappears quickly : When I bent down I felt a twinge in my back.

discomfort 名词 [不可数名词] formal an uncomfortable feeling in your body, or a slight pain : The procedure takes five minutes and only causes slight discomfort.

agony 名词 [不可数名词] a feeling of great pain, or a situation in which you feel a lot of pain : the agony of childbirth | I was in agony by the time I got to the hospital. | It was agony (= very painful ) getting up out of bed.

suffering 名词 [不可数名词] continuous physical or mental pain, which makes someone very unhappy : I just wanted someone to put an end to my suffering. | the suffering of the earthquake victims