painless

Meanings

1. 1adjectivenot comparable

   Causing no physical pain; not hurting.

   Grammar: Used to describe a procedure, treatment, or experience that does not hurt. It is not usually used with 'more' or 'most'.

   Patterns

   • a painless procedure
   • painless delivery
   • completely painless

   The dentist promised that the filling would be painless.

   Modern surgery for this condition is usually quick and painless.

   The injection was virtually painless.

2. 2adjectivecomparable

   Easy and free from difficulty or unpleasantness.

   Grammar: Can be used with 'more' or 'most' to compare: 'a more painless way to pay'.

   Patterns

   • a painless way to do something
   • painless process
   • relatively painless

   Switching banks turned out to be surprisingly painless.

   The company aims to make tax filing as painless as possible.

   We found a painless way to reduce our energy bills.

Word forms

Common combinations

quick and painless

The procedure was quick and painless.

relatively painless

The transition to the new system was relatively painless.

painless way

Online booking is a painless way to reserve a table.

painless process

They made the refund process painless.

Synonyms and how they differ

effortless

Effortless means requiring no effort; painless focuses on the absence of discomfort or difficulty.

easy

Easy is a general word for not difficult; painless often suggests avoiding unpleasantness.

comfortable

Comfortable means giving physical ease; painless simply means not causing pain.

Opposites

Word family

pain noun

Physical or emotional suffering.

painfully adverb

In a way that causes or shows pain.

painlessly adverb

In a way that causes no pain or difficulty.

Commonly confused: painless or painful?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “painless”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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