5 PHRASE If someone is at pains to do something, they are very eager and anxious to do it, especially because they want to avoid a difficult situation. □ Mobil is at pains to point out that the chances of an explosion at the site are remote.
6 PHRASE If someone is ordered not to do something on pain of or under pain of death, imprisonment, or arrest, they will be killed, put in prison, or arrested if they do it. □ We were forbidden, under pain of imprisonment, to use our native language.
7 PHRASE If you take pains to do something or go to great pains to do something, you try hard to do it, because you think it is important to do it. □ Social workers went to great pains to acknowledge men's domestic rights. □ I had taken great pains with my appearance.
pai n bar|ri|er N‑SING If you say that a sports player has gone through the pain barrier , you mean that he or she is continuing to make a great effort in spite of being injured or exhausted. [BRIT , JOURNALISM ] □ England's World Cup hero is determined to play through the pain barrier.
pained /pe I nd/ ADJ If you have a pained expression or look, you look upset, worried, or slightly annoyed.
pain|ful ◆◇◇ /pe I nfʊl/
1 ADJ [oft ADJ to-inf] If a part of your body is painful , it hurts because it is injured or because there is something wrong with it. □ Her glands were swollen and painful. ● pain|ful|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ His tooth had started to throb painfully again.
2 ADJ If something such as an illness, injury, or operation is painful , it causes you a lot of physical pain. □ …a painful back injury. ● pain|ful|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ He cracked his head painfully against the cupboard.
3 ADJ [oft ADJ to-inf] Situations, memories, or experiences that are painful are difficult and unpleasant to deal with, and often make you feel sad and upset. □ Remarks like that brought back painful memories. □ She finds it too painful to return there without him. ● pain|ful|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ …their old relationship, which he had painfully broken off.
4 ADJ [oft ADJ to-inf] If a performance or interview is painful , it is so bad that it makes you feel embarrassed for the people taking part in it. [INFORMAL ] □ The interview was painful to watch. SYNONYMS painful ADJ
1
sore: My chest is still sore from the surgery.
tender: My tummy felt very tender.
excruciating: I was in excruciating pain and one leg wouldn't move.
3
distressing: It is very distressing to see your baby attached to tubes and monitors.
unpleasant: The symptoms can be uncomfortable, unpleasant and serious.
upsetting: Childhood illness can be upsetting for children and parents alike.
pain|ful|ly /pe I nfʊli/
1 ADV You use painfully to emphasize a quality or situation that is undesirable. [EMPHASIS ] □ Things are moving painfully slowly. □ …a painfully shy young man.
2 → see also painful
pain|killer /pe I nk I lə r / (painkillers ) N‑COUNT A painkiller is a drug which reduces or stops physical pain.
pain|less /pe I nləs/
1 ADJ Something such as a treatment that is painless causes no physical pain. □ Acupuncture treatment is gentle, painless, and, invariably, most relaxing. □ …a quick and painless death. ● pain|less|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ …a technique to eliminate unwanted facial hair quickly and painlessly.
2 ADJ If a process or activity is painless , there are no difficulties involved, and you do not have to make a great effort or suffer in any way. □ House-hunting is in fact relatively painless in this region. ● pain|less|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ …a game for children which painlessly teaches essential pre-reading skills.
pains|taking /pe I nste I k I ŋ/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] A painstaking search, examination, or investigation is done extremely carefully and thoroughly. □ Forensic experts carried out a painstaking search of the debris. ● pains|taking|ly ADV □ Broken bones were painstakingly pieced together and reshaped.
paint ◆◆◇ /pe I nt/ (paints , painting , painted )
1 N‑VAR Paint is a coloured liquid that you put onto a surface with a brush in order to protect the surface or to make it look nice, or that you use to produce a picture. □ …a pot of red paint. □ They saw some large letters in white paint. □ …water-based artist's paints.
2 N‑SING On a wall or object, the paint is the covering of dried paint on it. □ The paint was peeling on the window frames.
3 VERB If you paint a wall or an object, you cover it with paint. □ [V n] They started to mend the woodwork and paint the walls. □ [V n colour] I made a guitar and painted it red. □ [V -ed] …painted furniture. [Also V ]
4 VERB If you paint something or paint a picture of it, you produce a picture of it using paint. □ [V n] He is painting a huge volcano. □ [V n] Why do people paint pictures? □ [V ] I had come here to paint.
5 VERB When you paint a design or message on a surface, you put it on the surface using paint. □ [V n prep] …a machine for painting white lines down roads. □ [V -ed] The recesses are decorated with gold stars, with smaller stars painted along the edges.
6 VERB If a woman paints her lips or nails, she puts a coloured cosmetic on them. □ [V n] She propped the mirror against her handbag and began to paint her lips. □ [V n colour] She painted her fingernails bright red.