Word.ws English Dictionary

on pain of

/ɒn ˈpeɪn əv/US/ɑn ˈpeɪn əv/

on pain of preposition: used to warn of consequences if a specified act is done or not done: subject to the punishment of (some penalty); or (generally) subject to the circumstance of (some thing).

Preposition

on pain of

  1. Used to warn of consequences if a specified act is done or not done: subject to the punishment of (some penalty); or (generally) subject to the circumstance of (some thing).
    • On paine of death, no perſon be ſo bold,
      Or daring, hardy, as to touch the liſtes,
      Except the Martiall and ſuch officers
      Appoynted to direct theſe faire deſignes.1595 December 9 (first known performance), [William Shakespeare], The Tragedie of King Richard the Second. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Valentine Simmes for Androw Wise, […], published 1597...
    • [N]o flattery for't:
      No lick-foote, paine of looſing your proboſcis:[…][1629 (first performance), B[en] Jonson, The New Inne. Or, The Light Heart. […], London: […] Thomas Harper, for Thomas Alchorne, […], published 1631, →OCLC, Act II, scene vi

Examples of on pain of in a sentence

  • Translated, it was a warning to the Claytons to refrain from reporting the loss of the revolvers, or from repeating what the old sailor had told them—to refrain on pain of death.1912 October, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Tarzan of the Apes”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as “Out...
  • The White Queen is offered for sacrifice six times in succession, and must be refused each time on pain of checkmate!1943 January, Irving Chernev, “Chess Thrillers”, in Chess Review:

Synonyms of on pain of

Origin of on pain of

From on + pain (“suffering inflicted as punishment or penalty”) + of; compare French sous peine de.

Questions about on pain of

What does on pain of mean?
On pain of means used to warn of consequences if a specified act is done or not done: subject to the punishment of (some penalty); or (generally) subject to the circumstance of (some thing).
How do you use on pain of in a sentence?
Translated, it was a warning to the Claytons to refrain from reporting the loss of the revolvers, or from repeating what the old sailor had told them—to refrain on pain of death.
What part of speech is on pain of?
On pain of is a preposition.
How do you pronounce on pain of?
On pain of is pronounced /ɒn ˈpeɪn əv/ (UK).

Words near on pain of in the dictionary

  1. on one's way
  2. on ones
  3. on opposite sides of the barricades
  4. on or about
  5. on order
  6. on pain of
  7. on paper
  8. on par
  9. on parade
  10. on pins and needles
  11. on point

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: on pain of (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-on pain of.wav.

Cite this entry: “on pain of.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/on_pain_of. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.