as in pains
a sharp unpleasant sensation usually felt in some specific part of the body
those hunger pangs that strike you in the middle of the afternoon
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Recent Examples of pangs
Ann Pietrangelo, Verywell Health, 22 Dec. 2025
Songwriters expressing pangs of grief for what once was held court with others fretting about undesirable futures and still others dreaming up cooler tomorrows.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
At the same time, many of our neighbors have lost jobs to corporate layoffs, government cutbacks and simple chance, and suddenly feel the pangs of hunger in this land of plenty.
—Cardinal Blase Cupich, Mercury News, 27 Nov. 2025
Mira Nair has kept at it for over three decades—whether through Monsoon Wedding (2001), which took Delhi’s chaotic beauty global, or The Namesake (2006), which tenderly captured the sharp pangs of diasporic longing.
—Bhanuj Kappal, Vogue, 15 Nov. 2025
Some detail Lucy’s desperate search for a new refrigerator for her mother-in-law during the height of the war, while others show the pangs of jealousy that come with a new relationship.
—Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 5 Nov. 2025
These pangs are only compounded by the cliffhanger that concluded Season 2, in which President William Rayburn (Michael McKean) suffered a fatal heart attack and elevated his vice president, Grace Penn (Allison Janney), to the top of the call sheet.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 16 Oct. 2025
Sharp cracks of gunfire pierced the morning air, loud, jarring pangs that echoed off the concrete.
—Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2025
Its high-fiber content combined with it only having 40 to 45 calories per fruit means kiwis can also help with healthy weight management by curbing hunger pangs without adding many calories to your diet.
—Daryl Austin, USA Today, 20 Sep. 2025
Noun
How Popcorn Affects Your Stomach When your stomach starts growling between meals, popcorn might be just the thing to alleviate those annoying hunger pangs.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for pangs
Noun
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In fact, Williams took great pains to establish that his primary objective is building the Terps (7-7, 0-3 Big Ten), not tearing down a 21-year-old prospect, the Bears or the sport’s governing body.—
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Those in their fifties and beyond require the same amount of sleep as younger adults—and may actually benefit from sleeping more to offset nightly wake-ups from aches and pains, medication side effects, or dealing with the need to urinate more frequently in the middle of the night.—
Noun
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Flu symptoms include fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, tiredness, vomiting, and diarrhea.—
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Flu symptoms in adults and children come on quick, with symptoms lasting from a few days to two weeks, with fatigue and chills to start, followed by fever, body aches, cough, headache, sore throat, congestion, and runny or stuffy nose, according to the Cleveland Clinic.—
Verb
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In seismic papers, Borjas’s research described the drawbacks of immigration, including his oft-cited, though much-disputed, findings that the arrival of lower-skilled immigrants hurts American workers who compete for jobs, especially poor people and African Americans.—
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That one still hurts a little bit.—
Noun
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Researchers suggested that future studies should include people who actually experience tingles to better understand how ASMR might help with mental health and relaxation.—
Verb
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The suspect pounces on Ennin while the victim is down and stabs him multiple times before running off.—
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After Fiona confesses to killing Willem, a raging Constance stabs Dahlia.—
Cite this Entry
“Pangs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pangs. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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