painful
1002
She looked rather pained at your remarks. | After they had
quarrelled there was a pained silence.
**pain·ful** /'peɪnfəl/ *adj* causing pain, especially physical pain:
*a painful cut on his thumb* | *Does it still feel painful?* | *It must
have been very painful for you to tell her about the accident.* |
(*fig.*) *That singer is/sounds absolutely painful!* (=terrible) →**ly**
*adv*: *It is painfully clear that Tom will fail his exam.* →**ness**
*n* [U]
**pain·kill·er** /'peɪnˌkɪlər/ also **analgesic** *med* — *n* a medi-
cine which lessens or removes pain
**pain·less** /'peɪnləs/ *adj* **1** causing no pain: *painless child-
birth* **2** *infml* needing no effort or hard work: *a painless way
of learning a foreign language* →**ly** *adv*
**pains** /peɪnz/ *n* [P] **1** trouble; effort: *We gave the taxi driver
something extra for his pains.* | *She went to great pains/
took pains with her work.* (=made an effort) **2** **be at pains
to do something** **a)** to take great trouble about something:
*The teacher was at (great) pains to make sure that we all
understood.* **b)** to be particularly careful to do something:
*He was at pains to point out my mistake.*
**pains·tak·ing** /'peɪnzteɪkɪ/ *adj* very careful and thorough:
*painstaking care* | *She is not very clever but she is painstaking.*
→**ly** *adv*
**paint¹** /peɪnt/ *n* [U] **1** liquid colouring matter which can be
put or spread on a surface to make it a certain colour: *a tin/a
tube of green paint* | *oil paint* | *gloss paint* | **Wet Paint** (=a
warning sign placed near a freshly painted surface) **2** *old use*
colouring matter used on the face; MAKE-UP → see also
GREASEPAINT, PAINTS; compare DYE
**paint²** *v* **1** [I; T] to put paint on (a surface): *I wear old trousers
when I'm painting.* | *The ceiling needs painting.* | [+obj+adj] *I
painted the door blue.* **2** **a)** [T] to make by using paint: *to
paint pictures* **b)** [T] to make a picture of: *She painted the
view from her hotel window.* **c)** [I] to paint pictures: *His wife
paints.* | *She paints in oils/in watercolours.* **3** [I; T] *old use derog*
to colour (the face) with MAKE-UP: *painted prostitutes* **4** [T]
to describe in clear well-chosen words: *His letters paint a
wonderful picture of his life in Burma.* **5** [T] to put medi-
cine on (especially the throat) with a brush **6** **paint the
town red** *infml* to go out and have an extremely good time,
usually to celebrate something → see also **not as black as
one is painted** (BLACK¹)
**paint·box** /'peɪntbɒks||-bɑːks/ *n* a (usually metal) box con-
taining hard blocks of paint which can be mixed with water,
often used by children
**paint·brush** /'peɪntbrʌʃ/ *n* a brush for spreading paint on a
surface → see picture at BRUSH
**Painted 'Desert, the** a desert area in Arizona in the
southwestern US, east of the Little Colorado River. It is known
for the red, brown, and purple rock surfaces on the PLATEAUS
(=large areas of flat land higher than the land around them).
**paint·er¹** /'peɪntər/ *n* **1** a person whose job is painting
houses, rooms etc **2** a person who paints pictures; ARTIST: *a
portrait/landscape painter* | *a good painter*
**painter²** *n tech* a rope for tying a small boat to a ship or to a
post on land
**paint·ing** /'peɪntɪŋ/ *n* **1** [U] the act of painting **a)** houses,
rooms etc **b)** pictures: *I've always admired Monet's early
painting.* **2** [C] a painted picture: *to hang a painting*
**paints** /peɪnts/ *n* [P] a set of small tubes or CAKES (=dry flat
pieces) of paint of different colours, usually in a paintbox,
used for making pictures: *a set of oil paints*
**paint·work** /'peɪntwɜːk||-wɜːrk/ *n* [U] a painted surface:
*some damage to the paintwork on my car*
**pair¹** /peər/ *n pl.* **pairs** or **pair** **1** [(of)] something made up of
two parts that are alike and are joined and used together:
*There's a clean pair of trousers on your bed.* | *a pair of
scissors* → see USAGE **2** [(of)] two things that are alike or of
the same kind, and are usually used together: *Is that a new
pair of shoes?* | *a beautiful pair of candlesticks* | *a pair (of
kings)* (=two playing cards of the same value) | *I've lost my
gloves – have you got a spare pair?* | *I've only got one pair of
hands!* (=I can't do all this work) **3** [+sing./pl. v] two people
closely connected, especially a COUPLE: *a pair of dancers* |
*The happy pair is/are going to Spain after their wedding.* |
*The children walked in pairs.* (=in twos) **4** [+sing./pl. v] **a)**
two animals, male and female, that stay together for a long
time **b)** two horses that pull a cart etc: *to drive a carriage
and pair* → see also TEAM¹ **5** *taboo slang* a woman's breasts
**USAGE** Some words like **trousers** and **scissors** are used
like plural nouns, but they are not thought of as having
number. So you can say *These scissors / My other
trousers are old* but the actual number of items (one or
more) can only be known from the situation. You cannot
use words to show the number of these items unless you
also use **pair** or **pairs**: *a pair of scissors* | *both pairs of
trousers* | *three pairs of trousers*. Pair is also used for
things like **shoes** which can be talked about separately or
two at a time. You can say *one shoe* | *both shoes* as
well as *a pair of shoes* | *five pairs of shoes*. Any word in
this dictionary which is followed by the note 'see PAIR
(USAGE)' can be used in the expression **a pair of X**. →
compare BRACE; see COUPLE (USAGE)
**pair²** *v* [I; T(OFF, UP)] to (cause to) form into one or more pairs:
*Birds often pair in the spring.* | *We tried to pair Jane and
David off/to pair Jane off with David.* | *He was paired (up)
with my sister in the tennis tournament.*
**pais·ley** /'peɪzli/ *n* [U] (sometimes *cap.*) cloth, with curved
coloured patterns (from the town Paisley in Scotland, where
the pattern was first made on a large scale): *a paisley skirt*
**Paisley, the Reverend Ian** /'iːən/ (1926–) a Northern
Irish PROTESTANT political leader, known for speaking very
strongly and emotionally in favour of Northern Ireland
remaining part of the United Kingdom, and against the IRA.
He was elected to the House of Commons in 1970, and in
1971 started the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
**Pai·ute** /paɪ'uːt/ *n* **1** the Paiute [plural] a Native American
tribe whose members live in the southwestern US **2** [C] a
member of this tribe → see Cultural Note at NATIVE AMERI-
CAN —**Paiute** *adj*
**pa'jama, party** *n AmE* a SLUMBER PARTY especially for older
girls
**pa·ja·mas** /pə'dʒɑːməz||-'dʒɑː-, -'dʒæ-/ *n* [P] especially *AmE* for
PYJAMAS → see PAIR (USAGE) —**pajama** *adj* [A]
**Pak·i** /'pæki/ *n BrE taboo* an insulting world for a person from
Pakistan, India, or Bangladesh
**'Paki bashing** *n* [U] *taboo* violent attacks against people of
Asian origin in the UK, usually by young people with RACIST
opinions
**'Paki shop** *n BrE taboo* an offensive word for a small, local
shop in the UK owned by people whose families originally
came from India or Pakistan
**Pa·ki·stan** /ˌpɑːkɪ'stɑːn, ˌpækɪ'stæn/ a Muslim country in
Asia, west of India and east of Afghanistan and Iran. Popu-
lation: 150,694,740 (2003). Capital: Islamabad. Pakistan was
formed as a new, independent country in 1947, when the
British left India and India was divided into separate parts in
a process known as 'Partition': a mainly Hindu part, the
country now called India, and a mainly Muslim part, called
Pakistan. Pakistan was also divided into East Pakistan and
West Pakistan, but they separated in 1971, when East
Pakistan became the new country of Bangladesh, and after
this West Pakistan was just called Pakistan. A lot of people
from Pakistan came to live in the UK, especially in the 1960s
and 1970s. → see also BHUTTO, JINNAH —**Pakistani** *adj*
**Pa·ki·sta·ni** /ˌpɑːkɪ'stɑːni, ˌpæk-||ˌpɑːki'stæni/ *n*
[C] **1** someone from Pakistan **2** from or connected with
Pakistan
**pal¹** /pæl/ *n infml* **1** a close friend: *an old pal of mine* | *We've
been pals for years!* **2** especially *AmE, ScE* (often used in
unfriendly speech to a man): *Listen, pal, I don't want you
talking to my sister any more, see?* → see also PALLY
**pal²** *v*
**pal up** *phr v -ll-* [I (with)] *BrE infml* to become friends
**pal·ace** /'pæləs/ *n* **1** [C] (often *cap.* as part of a name) a large grand
house where a ruling king or queen, or a British BISHOP or
ARCHBISHOP officially lives: *Buckingham Palace* → see
HOUSE (USAGE) **2** [C] any large splendid house: *The nobles of
Florence built splendid palaces.* | *His home is a palace com-
pared to ours!* → compare STATELY HOME **3** [C] especially *BrE* a
large building used for public amusement: *Some cinemas
used to be called Picture Palaces.* → see also PALATIAL