Aching — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Meaning & Definition of Aching

Aching (adjective)

that aches
causing or reflecting distress, deep emotion, or longing

Aching (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

causing or feeling bodily pain

"my poor, aching back"

similar: achy, afflictive, hurting, nasty, painful, sore

related: agonizing, excruciating, torturous, damaging, deleterious, detrimental, harmful, hurtful, injurious, noxious, pernicious, raw, tender, bleeding, burning, chafing, cramping, festering, itching, nagging, pinching, pricking, prickling, smarting, stinging, inflamed, swollen, grievous, severe, threatening, wounding

opposite: indolent, painless

near: curative, healing, helping, remedial
expressing or suggesting mourning

"another one of those aching country songs about a woman who done him wrong"

similar: agonized, anguished, bemoaning, bewailing, bitter, deploring, doleful, dolesome, dolorous, funeral, grieving, heartbroken, lamentable, lugubrious, mournful, plaintive, plangent, regretful, rueful, sorrowful, sorry, wailing, weeping, woeful

related: dirgelike, elegiac, melancholy, dejected, depressed, despondent, disconsolate, dispirited, downcast, downhearted, heartsick, heartsore, inconsolable, tearful, brokenhearted, careworn, crestfallen, forlorn, gloomy, glum, low-spirited, miserable, sad, triste, unhappy, woebegone, bawling, crying, groaning, howling, keening, moaning, yammering, bleeding, suffering, black, bleak, cheerless, comfortless, dark, darkening, desolate, dismal, dreary, funereal, gray, joyless, low, moody, morbid, morose, pathetic, pessimistic, piteous, saturnine, somber, sullen, wretched

near: delighted, exulting, glorying, happy, joyful, rejoicing, triumphant, bright, cheerful, cheering, cheery, laughing, smiling, blissful, blithe, blithesome, buoyant, jocund, jolly, joyous, lighthearted, merry, mirthful, encouraging, hopeful, optimistic, ecstatic, elated, euphoric, exhilarated, giddy, heady, rapturous, rhapsodic

Aching (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

to feel or cause physical pain

"my feet ache from all that walking"

similar: hurting, paining, smarting

related: biting, bleeding, burning, chafing, cramping, festering, itching, nagging, pinching, pounding, racking, stinging, swelling, throbbing, tingling, twinging, agonizing, anguishing, suffering, afflicting, harrowing, tormenting, torturing

Related Entry: Ache (verb)

Ache is a different word from Aching. The synonyms below are for ache, not for aching.

to feel or cause physical pain

"my feet ache from all that walking"

similar: hurt, pain, smart

related: bite, bleed, burn, chafe, cramp, fester, itch, nag, pinch, pound, rack, sting, swell, throb, tingle, twinge, agonize, anguish, suffer, afflict, harrow, torment, torture

Related Entry: Ache (for) (verb)

Ache (for) is a different word from Aching. The synonyms below are for ache (for), not for aching.

to have sympathy for

"I ache for those people who have to spend the holidays alone"

similar: bleed (for), commiserate (with), compassionate, condole (with), feel (for), pity, sympathize (with), yearn (over)

related: care (for), grieve (for), sorrow (for), love, empathize (with), identify (with), tolerate, understand

near: disregard, ignore, neglect, overlook, dislike, hate, scorn
to have an earnest wish to own or enjoy

"aching for some quiet time to himself"

similar: covet, crave, desiderate, desire, die (for), hanker (for or after), hunger (for), itch (for), jones (for) (slang), long (for), lust (for or after), pant (after), pine (for), repine (for), salivate (for), sigh (for), thirst (for), want, wish (for), yearn (for), yen (for), set one's heart on

related: spoil (for), adore, delight (in), dig, enjoy, fancy, groove (on), like, love, relish, revel (in), favor, prefer, admire, appreciate, cherish, prize, treasure, value

near: abhor, abominate, despise, detest, execrate, hate, loathe, decline, refuse, reject, spurn

Related Entry: Achingly (adverb)

Achingly is a different word from Aching. The synonyms below are for achingly, not for aching.

to a great degree

"an achingly funny movie"

similar: almighty, archly, awful, awfully, badly, beastly, blisteringly, bone, colossally, corking, cracking, damn, damned, dang, deadly, desperately, eminently, enormously, especially, ever, exceedingly, extra, extremely, fabulously, fantastically, far, fiercely, filthy, frightfully, full, greatly, heavily, highly, hugely, immensely, incredibly, intensely, jolly, majorly, mightily, mighty, monstrous (chiefly dialect), mortally, most, much, particularly, passing, rattling, real, really, right, roaring, roaringly, seriously, severely, so, sore, sorely, spanking, specially, stinking, such, super, supremely, surpassingly, terribly, that, thumping, too, unco, uncommonly, vastly, very, vitally, way, whacking, wicked, wildly, a lot, as all get-out, good and

related: absolutely, altogether, completely, downright, entirely, flat-out, fully, positively, purely, radically, thoroughly, totally, utterly, wholly, deeply, profoundly, exceptionally, notably, remarkably, considerably, extensively, significantly, substantially, appreciably, discernibly, markedly, noticeably, obviously, palpably, plainly, visibly, abundantly, plentifully, astronomically, grandly, monstrously, monumentally, excessively, obscenely, overmuch, amazingly, astonishingly, staggeringly

opposite: little, negligibly, nominally, slightly, somewhat

near: meagerly, scantily, barely, hardly, just, marginally, minimally, scarcely

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Aching

The most common words with a similar meaning to Aching:

achy, afflictive, hurting, nasty, painful, sore, agonized, anguished, bemoaning, bewailing, bitter, deploring, doleful, dolesome, dolorous, funeral, grieving, heartbroken, lamentable, lugubrious, mournful, plaintive, plangent, regretful, rueful, sorrowful, sorry, wailing, weeping, woeful, paining, smarting

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Aching

Words with the opposite meaning of Aching:

indolent, painless

Related Words for Aching

Near Antonyms of Aching

curative, healing, helping, remedial, delighted, exulting, glorying, happy, joyful, rejoicing, triumphant, bright, cheerful, cheering, cheery, laughing, smiling, blissful, blithe, blithesome, buoyant, jocund, jolly, joyous, lighthearted, merry, mirthful, encouraging, hopeful, optimistic

Origin & Etymology of Aching

Middle English aking, from present participle of aken "to ache:1"

First known use: 13th century

Words & Phrases Containing Aching

achingly

Frequently Asked Questions about Aching

What does "Aching" mean?

"Aching" means that aches. As an an adjective and a verb, it is defined as: that aches. It has 3 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Aching"?

Other words for "Aching" include achy, afflictive, hurting, nasty, painful, sore, agonized and anguished. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Aching" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Aching"?

There are 131 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Aching". Common alternatives include achy, afflictive, hurting, nasty, painful, sore, agonized, anguished, bemoaning and bewailing.

What is the opposite of "Aching"?

Antonyms of "Aching" include indolent and painless. Near antonyms include curative, healing, helping and remedial.

How do you use "Aching" in a sentence?

Examples of "Aching" in a sentence: "my poor, aching back"; "another one of those aching country songs about a woman who done him wrong"; "my feet ache from all that walking".

Is "Aching" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Aching" can be used as an adjective and a verb, depending on the context.

How do you pronounce "Aching"?

"Aching" is pronounced /ˈā-kiŋ/ and divided into syllables as ach·ing.

What is the origin of the word "Aching"?

"Aching" comes from Middle English aking, from present participle of aken "to ache:1". First known use: 13th century.