ACHING

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does aching mean? 

• ACHING (noun)
  The noun ACHING has 1 sense:

1. a dull persistent (usually moderately intense) pain

  Familiarity information: ACHING used as a noun is very rare.

• ACHING (adjective)
  The adjective ACHING has 1 sense:

1. causing a dull and steady pain

  Familiarity information: ACHING used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ACHING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A dull persistent (usually moderately intense) pain

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

ache; aching

Hypernyms ("aching" is a kind of...):

hurting; pain (a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "aching"):

odontalgia; toothache (an ache localized in or around a tooth)

backache (an ache localized in the back)

cephalalgia; head ache; headache (pain in the head caused by dilation of cerebral arteries or muscle contractions or a reaction to drugs)

bellyache; gastralgia; stomach ache; stomachache (an ache localized in the stomach or abdominal region)

earache; otalgia (an ache localized in the middle or inner ear)

Derivation:

ache (feel physical pain)

ache (be the source of pain)

• ACHING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Causing a dull and steady pain

Synonyms:

aching; achy

Context example:

her old achy joints

Similar:

painful (causing physical or psychological pain)

 Context examples 

With a wet towel bound about his aching brow, he had been at work all day.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

“However, I am aching for a chance to kill you, so go ahead and cut.”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

A question about whether an individual has or had aching.

(Have Aching, NCI Thesaurus)

Parkinson's Disease Quality of Life Scale (PDQUALIF) I have aching/burning/coldness/numbness in my hand/feet.

(PDQUALIF - Neuropathy in Hands or Feet, NCI Thesaurus)

Morning, dismal and wet, at length dawned and discovered to my sleepless and aching eyes the church of Ingolstadt, its white steeple and clock, which indicated the sixth hour.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) Check Yes or No if the adjective applies to your pain; aching.

(BPI - Aching, NCI Thesaurus)

If you've ever groaned, "Oh, my aching back!", you are not alone.

(Back Pain, NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

It manifested itself to him as a void in his being—a hungry, aching, yearning void that clamoured to be filled.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

The same hostile roof now again rose before me: my prospects were doubtful yet; and I had yet an aching heart.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

It was really shock, rather than any injury, which had prostrated me, and in half-an-hour, in spite of aching head and stiff neck, I was sitting up and ready for anything.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)