pained

/peind/

Thân thiện

She winced with a pained expression after stubbing her toe.

Definition

Adjective: 1. Showing or expressing emotional pain or distress: Used to describe someone's appearance, expression, or manner when they are hurt, upset, or offended. 2. Caused to feel mental or emotional discomfort: The state of being distressed or troubled by something.

Usage and Examples

The adjective "pained" is primarily used to describe a person's facial expression, tone of voice, or reaction that clearly shows they are feeling hurt, distressed, or offended. It often implies a silent or restrained suffering.

• Describing an expression:
  • He gave a pained smile when he heard the criticism.
  • Her face wore a pained expression as she listened to the sad news.
• Describing a reaction or manner:
  • "I wish you hadn't said that," she replied in a pained voice.
  • There was a pained silence after his awkward comment.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• "To look pained": This is a very common collocation. It directly describes the visual appearance of someone experiencing emotional discomfort.
  • She looked pained when her idea was immediately dismissed.
• Degree of Formality: "Pained" is a standard, somewhat literary adjective. In very casual speech, people might simply say someone "looked hurt" or "seemed upset."

Variants and Related Words

• Pain (noun/verb): The root word. As a verb, it means to cause distress or suffering.
  • It pains me to see you so unhappy.
• Painful (adjective): Describes something that causes physical or emotional pain.
  • It was a painful memory. (Note: "Painful" describes the cause of pain, while "pained" describes the appearance or state of the person feeling it.)

Synonyms

• Distressed: Showing extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain.
• Hurt: Feeling emotional pain or distress.
• Upset: Emotionally disturbed or agitated.
• Afflicted: Mentally or physically troubled (more formal/literary).
• Troubled: Showing or feeling worry or distress.

Antonyms

• Pleased: Feeling or showing pleasure and satisfaction.
• Delighted: Greatly pleased.
• Contented: Happy and at ease.
• Joyful: Feeling or expressing great happiness.

Idiomatic Expressions

• A pained expression/look/smile: The standard way to describe the visible sign of emotional discomfort.
  • He listened with a pained look on his face.
• In a pained tone/voice: Describing a way of speaking that conveys hurt feelings.
  • She asked, in a pained tone, why she hadn't been invited.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. hurt or upset
   • she looked offended
   • face had a pained and puzzled expression

Từ đồng nghĩa

• offended