ache

[eyk]

verb (used without object)

ached, aching 

1. to have or suffer a continuous, dull pain.

   His whole body ached.

   Synonyms: hurt

2. to feel great sympathy, pity, or the like.

   Her heart ached for the starving animals.

3. to feel eager; yearn; long.

   She ached to be the champion. He's just aching to get even.

noun

1. a continuous, dull pain (in contrast to a sharp, sudden, or sporadic pain).

ache

/ eɪk /

verb

1. to feel, suffer, or be the source of a continuous dull pain

2. to suffer mental anguish

noun

1. a continuous dull pain

Other Word Forms

• aching adjective
• achingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ache¹

before 900; (v.) Middle English aken, Old English acan; perhaps metaphoric use of earlier unattested sense “drive, impel” (compare Old Norse aka, cognate with Latin agere, Greek ágein ); (noun) derivative of the v.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ache¹

Old English ācan (vb), æce (n), Middle English aken (vb), ache (n). Compare _bake , _batch

Synonym Study

See pain.

Example Sentences

The two grief-stricken men ache to be understood.

From Los Angeles Times

When Winslet allows the dam surrounding Mare’s despair to crack a little, frosting the blank spaces between lines of dialogue with pure aching emotion, tearing your eyes away is impossible.

From Salon

My heart aches for the child who looks at them for profit.

From Los Angeles Times

I returned from a cross-country trip with a razor blade sore throat and a stubborn headache, followed by aches and pains.

From Los Angeles Times

Even when he was “healthy” over that span, Kershaw would often wake up in the morning with a stiff back or aching hips.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• anguish 
• misery 
• pang 
• soreness www.thesaurus.com
• spasm 
• twinge