Idioms are a creative and expressive part of the English language, often used to describe emotions and experiences in vivid ways. When it comes to pain—whether it’s physical, emotional, or even just a little embarrassing—idioms help us talk about it with color, humor, or even drama. These phrases don’t always mean exactly what the words say, but they paint a picture that makes the feeling easier to relate to.
Understanding idioms about pain can be useful for anyone who wants to describe tough situations in a more engaging way. From heartbreak to stubbed toes, awkward situations to full-blown disasters, these idioms add character to our conversations. Plus, they’re commonly used in movies, books, and everyday speech, so knowing them can improve both listening skills and expression.
In this article, you’ll explore 48 idioms all related to pain, along with their meanings, example sentences, and some fun alternative ways to say the same thing. Whether you’re trying to describe a bad day or just want to sound more fluent, these idioms will give you the language tools to do it with style.
Idioms for Pain
1. A thorn in my side
Meaning: Someone or something that constantly causes trouble or discomfort.
In a Sentence: Ever since I joined that team, the captain has been a thorn in my side with her constant criticism.
Other Ways to Say: A constant bother, Ongoing annoyance
2. Pain in the neck
Meaning: A person or task that is very annoying or difficult.
In a Sentence: This group project is becoming a real pain in the neck with everyone arguing all the time.
Other Ways to Say: Super annoying, A real hassle
3. Break your heart
Meaning: To cause deep emotional sadness or disappointment.
In a Sentence: Watching my childhood dog leave for the vet one last time really broke my heart.
Other Ways to Say: Deeply upset, Emotionally crush
4. Cut to the bone
Meaning: To affect someone very deeply or severely, usually in a painful way.
In a Sentence: Her harsh words cut to the bone, and I couldn’t stop thinking about them for days.
Other Ways to Say: Hurt deeply, Leave an emotional scar
5. Hit where it hurts
Meaning: To say or do something that affects someone in a very sensitive or painful area.
In a Sentence: When she mentioned my failed exam, she really hit me where it hurts.
Other Ways to Say: Strike a nerve, Go too far
6. Feel the pinch
Meaning: To experience financial or emotional strain.
In a Sentence: Ever since Dad lost his job, we’ve really been feeling the pinch at home.
Other Ways to Say: Struggle financially, Face hardship
7. Rub salt in the wound
Meaning: To make a bad situation even worse by adding more pain.
In a Sentence: It rubbed salt in the wound when he bragged about getting the promotion I was hoping for.
Other Ways to Say: Make things worse, Add to the pain
8. Give someone a headache
Meaning: To cause stress, frustration, or problems.
In a Sentence: This confusing homework assignment is seriously giving me a headache.
Other Ways to Say: Stress someone out, Be mentally exhausting
9. Cry your eyes out
Meaning: To cry a lot and with strong emotion.
In a Sentence: I cried my eyes out after reading the ending of that tragic novel.
Other Ways to Say: Sob uncontrollably, Weep deeply
10. Twist the knife
Meaning: To make someone feel even worse about something, especially on purpose.
In a Sentence: Telling me he moved on so quickly really twisted the knife.
Other Ways to Say: Deepen the wound, Add insult to injury
11. Knock the wind out of someone
Meaning: To shock or upset someone so badly that they feel physically or emotionally stunned.
In a Sentence: When I heard the news that my scholarship application was rejected, it completely knocked the wind out of me and left me sitting in silence for the rest of the evening.
Other Ways to Say: Shock deeply, Leave speechless
12. Like pulling teeth
Meaning: Something that is extremely difficult or unpleasant to do.
In a Sentence: Trying to get my little brother to clean his room is like pulling teeth—it’s exhausting, frustrating, and feels nearly impossible.
Other Ways to Say: Extremely hard, A big struggle
13. Feel the burn
Meaning: To feel intense physical pain, usually from exercise or effort.
In a Sentence: After climbing all those stairs with my heavy backpack, my legs were shaking and I could definitely feel the burn.
Other Ways to Say: Experience soreness, Muscle ache
14. Put someone through the wringer
Meaning: To cause someone to go through a very tough or emotionally draining experience.
In a Sentence: That intense job interview really put me through the wringer—I felt emotionally exhausted and completely drained afterward.
Other Ways to Say: Wear someone out, Exhaust emotionally
15. Stabbed in the back
Meaning: To be betrayed by someone you trusted.
In a Sentence: I felt like I’d been stabbed in the back when my best friend told everyone my biggest secret just for a laugh.
Other Ways to Say: Betrayed, Let down
16. Carry the weight of the world
Meaning: To feel overwhelmed by heavy responsibilities or emotional stress.
In a Sentence: With everything going wrong at school and home, I felt like I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders every single day.
Other Ways to Say: Overburdened, Emotionally overloaded
17. Tear your hair out
Meaning: To feel extreme frustration or anxiety.
In a Sentence: I was tearing my hair out trying to finish my science project on time while juggling three other assignments and group meetings.
Other Ways to Say: Extremely stressed, Feel overwhelmed
18. On pins and needles
Meaning: Feeling nervous or anxious while waiting for something to happen.
In a Sentence: I was on pins and needles waiting for the results of my audition, barely able to sit still as the hours passed.
Other Ways to Say: Anxious, On edge
19. A slap in the face
Meaning: Something insulting or disappointing, especially when unexpected.
In a Sentence: It felt like a slap in the face when my ideas were ignored in the meeting after I spent so much time preparing them.
Other Ways to Say: An insult, A harsh rejection
20. Knock someone down a peg
Meaning: To humble someone who is acting too proud or confident.
In a Sentence: He walked into the room acting like he owned the place, but that difficult question really knocked him down a peg and reminded him he’s not always the smartest one around.
Other Ways to Say: Bring back to reality, Deflate someone’s ego
21. Hit like a ton of bricks
Meaning: To impact someone very strongly, often emotionally or physically.
In a Sentence: The moment I realized I had failed the final exam hit me like a ton of bricks, and I just stood there frozen, unsure of what to do next.
Other Ways to Say: Hit hard emotionally, Overwhelm suddenly
22. Open old wounds
Meaning: To bring up painful memories that were better left forgotten.
In a Sentence: Talking about my parents’ divorce in class just opened old wounds that I had worked so hard to heal over the years.
Other Ways to Say: Revisit past pain, Bring back bad memories
23. At your wit’s end
Meaning: To feel completely out of patience or solutions.
In a Sentence: After days of trying to calm my crying baby with no success, I was at my wit’s end and didn’t know where else to turn.
Other Ways to Say: Frustrated to the max, Out of options
24. Add insult to injury
Meaning: To make a bad situation even worse.
In a Sentence: Not only did I lose my wallet on the bus, but to add insult to injury, someone used my card to go on a shopping spree.
Other Ways to Say: Make it worse, Kick someone while they’re down
25. Hit rock bottom
Meaning: To reach the lowest possible point emotionally, mentally, or financially.
In a Sentence: After losing my job and getting into debt, I truly felt like I had hit rock bottom and couldn’t sink any lower.
Other Ways to Say: Lowest point, Deep despair
26. Cry over spilled milk
Meaning: To be upset about something that cannot be changed or undone.
In a Sentence: I was so frustrated about missing the concert, but my sister reminded me that crying over spilled milk wouldn’t fix anything.
Other Ways to Say: Let it go, Don’t dwell on the past
27. Feel like death warmed over
Meaning: To feel extremely sick or exhausted.
In a Sentence: After staying up all night with a fever and barely sleeping, I felt like death warmed over when I got out of bed.
Other Ways to Say: Feel horrible, Really unwell
28. Put a dagger through the heart
Meaning: To cause intense emotional pain.
In a Sentence: Hearing my friend say she never trusted me felt like putting a dagger through my heart—it hurt more than I could have imagined.
Other Ways to Say: Break someone’s heart, Deeply wound
29. Drag your feet
Meaning: To delay doing something because it’s difficult or unpleasant.
In a Sentence: I kept dragging my feet when it came to talking to my teacher about the failing grade because I was embarrassed and afraid.
Other Ways to Say: Avoid something, Hesitate
30. Heart sinks
Meaning: To suddenly feel disappointed, sad, or hopeless.
In a Sentence: My heart sank when I saw the rejection letter in my inbox after waiting weeks for a response.
Other Ways to Say: Feel crushed, Sudden sadness
31. Carry a heavy heart
Meaning: To feel deep emotional sadness or sorrow.
In a Sentence: I walked out of the hospital with a heavy heart, knowing that my grandmother’s condition wasn’t going to improve.
Other Ways to Say: Deeply saddened, Full of grief
32. Put your foot in your mouth
Meaning: To say something inappropriate or embarrassing, often by accident.
In a Sentence: I really put my foot in my mouth when I asked her about her weekend, not realizing she had just gone through a breakup.
Other Ways to Say: Say the wrong thing, Embarrass yourself
33. Take it to heart
Meaning: To be deeply affected or hurt by something someone said or did.
In a Sentence: I know she was just joking, but I took it to heart and felt pretty embarrassed for the rest of the day.
Other Ways to Say: Get hurt emotionally, Be sensitive to comments
34. Get under your skin
Meaning: To bother or irritate someone deeply over time.
In a Sentence: His constant comments about my appearance really got under my skin and made me feel uncomfortable.
Other Ways to Say: Irritate, Annoy persistently
35. Like nails on a chalkboard
Meaning: Something extremely irritating or unpleasant to experience.
In a Sentence: The sound of that squeaky chair during the exam was like nails on a chalkboard, making it impossible for me to focus.
Other Ways to Say: Extremely annoying, Unbearably irritating
36. Feel raw
Meaning: To feel emotionally exposed, hurt, or sensitive.
In a Sentence: After the argument with my best friend, I felt raw and vulnerable, like every word people said could make me cry.
Other Ways to Say: Deeply emotional, Exposed
37. A tough pill to swallow
Meaning: A hard or unpleasant truth to accept.
In a Sentence: Realizing that I didn’t make the team was a tough pill to swallow, especially after all the hours I put into training.
Other Ways to Say: Hard truth, Difficult to accept
38. Drown in sorrow
Meaning: To feel completely overwhelmed by sadness.
In a Sentence: After the breakup, I stayed in bed for days, drowning in sorrow and avoiding all my friends.
Other Ways to Say: Overcome by sadness, Deeply grieve
39. Rip your heart out
Meaning: To cause intense emotional pain, often from betrayal or loss.
In a Sentence: Watching my childhood home being torn down felt like someone had ripped my heart out—it held so many memories.
Other Ways to Say: Cause heartbreak, Hurt deeply
40. A bitter pill to take
Meaning: Something painful or unpleasant that must be accepted.
In a Sentence: It was a bitter pill to take when I realized I wasn’t as prepared for the test as I thought, especially after all my confidence.
Other Ways to Say: Harsh reality, Unwelcome truth
41. Hang by a thread
Meaning: To be in a very fragile, risky, or uncertain situation.
In a Sentence: After missing two rent payments, my living situation was hanging by a thread, and I was constantly anxious about what would happen next.
Other Ways to Say: On the edge, In danger
42. At breaking point
Meaning: To be extremely stressed or emotionally overwhelmed.
In a Sentence: With all the pressure from school, home, and friends, I finally reached my breaking point and burst into tears during class.
Other Ways to Say: Maxed out, Emotionally done
43. Walking on broken glass
Meaning: To be in a situation where every move feels risky, painful, or emotionally delicate.
In a Sentence: After our big argument, I felt like I was walking on broken glass every time I talked to her, afraid I might say the wrong thing.
Other Ways to Say: Treading carefully, Emotionally tense
44. Sore spot
Meaning: A sensitive or painful subject for someone.
In a Sentence: Don’t mention her old job—it’s a sore spot and always makes her uncomfortable.
Other Ways to Say: Sensitive topic, Touchy subject
45. Feel crushed
Meaning: To feel deeply disappointed or heartbroken.
In a Sentence: I felt completely crushed when my painting didn’t get selected for the art show, especially since I’d worked on it for weeks.
Other Ways to Say: Devastated, Extremely sad
46. In agony
Meaning: Experiencing extreme physical or emotional pain.
In a Sentence: After spraining my ankle during the game, I was in agony and couldn’t even stand up.
Other Ways to Say: In great pain, Hurting badly
47. Hurt like crazy
Meaning: To hurt a lot, either physically or emotionally.
In a Sentence: When I stubbed my toe on the metal bedframe, it hurt like crazy and I had to sit down for a minute just to recover.
Other Ways to Say: Really painful, Extremely sore
48. Choke up
Meaning: To become emotional to the point of struggling to speak.
In a Sentence: I started to choke up during my speech at graduation, especially when I thanked my parents for always believing in me.
Other Ways to Say: Get emotional, Nearly cry
Exercise to Practice
Fill in the blanks below with the correct idiom:
- After seeing the test results, I felt completely _______ because I had studied so hard.
- Don’t bring up her past failures; it’s a _______ spot for her.
- I was _______ on broken glass when I went to talk to my coach after being benched.
- Realizing I had to retake the class was a tough _______ to swallow.
- Watching my old neighborhood disappear under new buildings felt like someone had _______ my heart out.
- With rent overdue and bills piling up, my finances were hanging by a _______.
- I was _______ in sorrow after I got rejected from all my college choices.
- I was already having a bad day, but his comment really rubbed _______ in the wound.
- That meeting was so frustrating that I nearly tore my _______ out trying to stay calm.
- My roommate’s loud music is like _______ on a chalkboard every night.
- I tried to apologize, but I accidentally put my _______ in my mouth and made things worse.
- After hearing what she said about me behind my back, I felt like I’d been _______ in the back.
Answers:
crushed, sore, walking, pill, ripped, thread, drowning, salt, hair, nails, foot, stabbed
Conclusion
Pain is something everyone experiences in life, and idioms help us describe it in ways that are vivid, relatable, and sometimes even a little humorous. Whether it’s emotional pain like heartbreak or stress, or physical discomfort like soreness or illness, idioms give us the words to express how we truly feel.
By using these expressions, you can sound more natural in conversations, understand others better, and even bring a little creativity into how you talk about difficult experiences. Keep practicing these idioms and try using them in your writing, texts, or daily chats. The more you use them, the more natural they’ll feel—and the better you’ll be at expressing even the toughest emotions with confidence and style.
