proverb · Words worth keeping
Pride feels no pain.
Pride feels no pain.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A determination to maintain an impressive image can hide or override discomfort. The saying questions what someone is willing to bear for pride.
Example
Someone stops pretending that an unrealistic commitment is easy and asks for help rather than protecting an image of effortless competence.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Pride is personified as unable to feel pain. It can describe someone concealing a cost because admitting it would challenge their self-image. This is exaggeration, not a claim that pride removes physical sensation. A useful reading asks whether an appearance or status goal has become more important than a real need, without judging confidence or self-respect as inherently wrong.
When to use it
Use it to examine a cost hidden for the sake of appearance.
Keep in mind
The image is not a medical claim, and self-respect need not require self-denial.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English