Definition

1. Noun:
   • A sharp, sudden, and often intense feeling of physical pain: A pang is a brief, acute spasm of bodily discomfort.
   • A sharp, sudden feeling of emotional or mental distress: A pang is a sudden, painful emotion, such as regret, guilt, longing, or sadness.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • She felt a sharp pang in her side. (This describes a sudden physical pain.)
  • He experienced a pang of regret when he saw his old friend. (This describes a sudden emotional feeling.)
  • The pangs of hunger made it hard to concentrate. (This describes intense, recurring feelings of need or discomfort.)

Advanced Usage

• "a pang of conscience": a sudden feeling of guilt or remorse about something one has done.
  • He felt a pang of conscience after telling the lie.
• "birth pangs": the pains associated with childbirth; often used metaphorically to describe the difficult initial stages of a new process or era.
  • The country endured the birth pangs of democracy.
• "pangs of jealousy": sudden, sharp feelings of envy.
  • She felt unexpected pangs of jealousy seeing their success.

Variants and Related Words

• Pang is typically used as a noun. There is no direct verb form. The related adjective panging is rare but can be used to describe something that causes such a feeling (e.g., ).

Synonyms

• Stab: a sudden, sharp feeling (e.g., ).
• Twinge: a slight, sudden feeling of pain or emotion (often less intense than a pang).
• Ache: a more persistent, dull pain or emotional feeling.
• Throe: a severe spasm of pain, often used in the plural (e.g., ).

Related Phrases

• Pangs of hunger: the sharp, painful sensations caused by needing food.
• Pangs of nostalgia: sudden, bittersweet feelings of longing for the past.

Related Idioms

• No common idioms are formed exclusively with the word "pang." Its usage is primarily within the phrases and collocations listed above (e.g., ).

Noun

1. a sharp spasm of pain
2. a mental pain or distress
   • a pang of conscience
3. a sudden sharp feeling
   • pangs of regret
   • she felt a stab of excitement
   • twinges of conscience