Pain vs. Hurt — What's the Difference?

A basic bodily sensation induced by a noxious stimulus.

Emotional pain caused by someone or something.

A distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli.

To cause pain or injury.

An uncomfortable sensation in the body signaling something wrong.

The act of inflicting pain, often emotionally.

Emotional suffering or distress.

To be injured or in pain.

A term used in medicine to describe patient discomfort.

A feeling of suffering or distress.

Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage." In medical diagnosis, pain is regarded as a symptom of an underlying condition.

Cause pain or injury to

Highly unpleasant physical sensation caused by illness or injury

Be detrimental to

Great care or trouble

Have a pressing need for

Cause mental or physical pain to

Physically injured

An unpleasant feeling occurring as a result of injury or disease, usually localized in some part of the body

Physical injury; harm

Bodily suffering characterized by such feelings

To cause physical damage or pain to (an individual or a body part); injure

Mental or emotional suffering; distress.

To experience injury or pain to or in (an individual or a body part)

An instance of this

To cause mental or emotional suffering to; distress

Pains The pangs of childbirth.

To cause physical damage to (something); harm

Pains Great care or effort

To be detrimental to; hinder or impair

(Informal) A source of annoyance; a nuisance

To have or produce a feeling of physical pain or discomfort

To cause physical pain to; hurt

To cause distress or damage

To cause mental or emotional distress to

To have an adverse effect

An ache or bodily suffering, or an instance of this; an unpleasant sensation, resulting from a derangement of functions, disease, or injury by violence; hurt.

(Informal) To experience distress, especially of a financial kind; be in need

(uncountable) The condition or fact of suffering or anguish especially mental, as opposed to pleasure; torment; distress

Something that hurts; a pain, injury, or wound.

An annoying person or thing.

Mental suffering; anguish

Suffering inflicted as punishment or penalty.

A wrong; harm

Labour; effort; great care or trouble taken in doing something.

To cause (a person or animal) physical pain and/or injury.

Any of various breads stuffed with a filling.

To cause (somebody) emotional pain.

(transitive) To hurt; to put to bodily uneasiness or anguish; to afflict with uneasy sensations of any degree of intensity; to torment; to torture.

To be painful.

(transitive) To render uneasy in mind; to disquiet; to distress; to grieve.

To damage, harm, impair, undermine, impede.

To inflict suffering upon as a penalty; to punish.

Wounded, physically injured.

To feel pain; to hurt.

Pained.

Punishment suffered or denounced; suffering or evil inflicted as a punishment for crime, or connected with the commission of a crime; penalty.

An emotional or psychological humiliation or bad experience.

Any uneasy sensation in animal bodies, from slight uneasiness to extreme distress or torture, proceeding from a derangement of functions, disease, or injury by violence; bodily distress; bodily suffering; an ache; a smart.

(archaic) A bodily injury causing pain; a wound or bruise.

Specifically, the throes or travail of childbirth.

(archaic) Injury; damage; detriment; harm

Uneasiness of mind; mental distress; disquietude; anxiety; grief; solicitude; anguish. Also called mental pain.

(engineering) A band on a trip hammer's helve, bearing the trunnions.

See Pains, labor, effort.

A husk.

To inflict suffering upon as a penalty; to punish.

(heraldry) A roundel azure (blue circular spot).

To put to bodily uneasiness or anguish; to afflict with uneasy sensations of any degree of intensity; to torment; to torture; as, his dinner or his wound pained him; his stomach pained him.

A band on a trip-hammer helve, bearing the trunnions.

To render uneasy in mind; to disquiet; to distress; to grieve; as, a child's faults pain his parents.

To cause physical pain to; to do bodily harm to; to wound or bruise painfully.

A symptom of some physical hurt or disorder;

To impar the value, usefulness, beauty, or pleasure of; to damage; to injure; to harm.

Emotional distress; a fundamental feeling that people try to avoid;

To wound the feelings of; to cause mental pain to; to offend in honor or self-respect; to annoy; to grieve.

A somatic sensation of acute discomfort;

Any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.

A bothersome annoying person;

Psychological suffering;

Something or someone that causes trouble; a source of unhappiness;

Feelings of mental or physical pain

Cause bodily suffering to

A damage or loss

Cause emotional anguish or make miserable;

The act of damaging something or someone

Be the source of pain

Give trouble or pain to;

Cause emotional anguish or make miserable;

Cause damage or affect negatively;

Hurt the feelings of;

Feel physical pain;

Feel pain or be in pain

Suffering from physical injury especially that suffered in battle;

Used of inanimate objects or their value

Doctors often use 'pain' as a clinical term to assess and treat physical or emotional symptoms, whereas 'hurt' is less clinical and more subjective, relating to personal feelings.

No, hurt can result from both physical pain and emotional distress, and can sometimes exist without a clear physical cause.

Yes, some forms of pain, especially minor physical discomforts, may not necessarily lead to a feeling of being hurt.

Animals can definitely experience physical pain, though their experience of emotional hurt is less understood and primarily inferred through behavioral changes.

Pain is a broad term that describes both physical sensations and emotional suffering, while hurt typically refers to the experience of pain, particularly emotional.

Emotional hurt can significantly impact mental health, leading to conditions like depression and anxiety if not addressed properly.

Yes, hurt can be considered a type of pain, especially in contexts where it refers to emotional suffering.

Chronic pain refers to persistent physical pain that lasts for months or years, while chronic hurt could describe prolonged emotional distress, often without a physical cause.

A common misconception is that pain and hurt are always visible or manifest physically; both can be internal and not apparent to others.

Ignoring emotional hurt can lead to increased stress and may manifest as physical pain over time, demonstrating the interconnectedness of emotional and physical health.

Children might not differentiate clearly between pain and hurt; they often express both through crying, withdrawal, or tantrums, depending on the intensity and the context.

No, pain is often measured using scales like the numeric rating scale or visual analog scale in medical settings, whereas hurt, particularly emotional hurt, is more subjective and difficult to quantify.

Yes, cultural background can influence how individuals express and manage pain and hurt, with some cultures emphasizing stoicism and others more open expression.

Effective coping strategies include medical treatments, counseling, mindfulness practices, and support from friends and family, tailored to whether the distress is physical or emotional.

Pain relievers target the physical aspects of pain by reducing inflammation or blocking pain signals, whereas they do not directly address emotional hurt, which might require psychological support.