adjective
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not causing pain or distress
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not affected by pain
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of painless
Explanation
Anything that's painless doesn't hurt at all. A painless medical procedure (like having blood drawn) might be a little scary, but it's actually very easy. Getting your teeth cleaned at the dentist should be a painless process, although getting a filling sometimes hurts a little bit. A painless math test is simple and requires very little work or thought on your part — this is a figurative way to use painless, obviously, since no one would expect a math test to cause you physical pain, even if it's not your strongest subject.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the end, the IUD removal was easy and relatively painless, with only brief discomfort from the injection.
From Slate • Jun. 7, 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed—and at least 12 million b/d shut in—it was a relatively painless time to make a move that would normally have been bearish for oil prices.
From Barron's • May 4, 2026
The team also used pattern visual evoked potentials – a painless test that measured how well signals travelled from the retina to the visual cortex.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
To study these changes, the team relied on two painless techniques that can be used while a person rests quietly.
From Science Daily • Feb. 24, 2026
Might as well try and make this as painless as possible.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
