How to Use painful in a Sentence

painful

adjective

• It was painful to watch.
• I got a painful sunburn.
• His questions brought up a lot of painful memories.
• We can't ignore our country's painful history of slavery.
• Slide the painful foot back, and plant the heel to the floor.
  — Cori Ritchey, Men's Health, 8 Apr. 2023
• The most painful part, many said, was being in the dark about their fate.
  — Miriam Berger, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024
• Back home, the gloom of a painful work stoppage seemed far away.
  — Todd Robinson, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Aug. 2023
• But this insect leaves one of the most painful bug bites.
  — Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 19 Jan. 2023
• The rash was made up of tiny, reddish-brown spots that were painful.
  — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024
• But the process is sure to be painful and could even spur a recession.
  — Ben Casselman, New York Times, 27 Dec. 2022
• And that was just the most painful situation in the world.
  — Katie Herchenroeder, The New Republic, 21 Dec. 2022
• No one gets over that kind of trauma and the most painful scars are the ones people don’t see.
  — Joseph Goodman | [e-mail], al, 10 July 2023
• As with any machine, some changes, more or less painful, had to be made.
  — Byadrian Cho, science.org, 4 May 2023
• Well, there were some moments with the Dragos that were [painful to cut].
  — Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 June 2023
• In a painful stroke of irony, the United States would respond in part with a spell of infamy of its own.
  — Cynthia Teniente-Matson, The Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2024
• Bowman said even twisting the wrong way can be painful.
  — Mark Heim | [e-mail], al, 28 May 2023
• Those who did tune in were faced with a spectacle painful to watch.
  — Shelby Grad, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2024
• In the Woman in Me, Spears opens up about the painful experience.
  — Daniela Avila, Peoplemag, 19 Oct. 2023
• The girl’s call for help lasted for more than 21 minutes and is painful to listen to.
  — Theresa Vargas, Washington Post, 9 Sep. 2023
• The rash for chickenpox is very itchy, while the shingles rash is known to be quite painful.
  — Carrie Madormo, Rn, Health, 3 Nov. 2024
• This has been the most painful and difficult challenge of my life.
  — Annie Lane, Anchorage Daily News, 11 July 2023
• The sight of it was so painful for her parents that Sisco could barely walk in.
  — Julia Prodis Sulek, The Mercury News, 24 Mar. 2024
• Some even say that tweezing and waxing are more painful.
  — Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 13 Nov. 2023
• But that often painful process taught me that failure is okay.
  — Max Gellert, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
• If that’s true, what comes next will be painful and disruptive.
  — Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 6 Aug. 2024
• Others, much more painful: the murder of Deshaun Hill Jr., shot and killed two years ago just blocks from the school.
  — Meg Anderson, NPR, 19 Apr. 2024
• All the while, the clusters got more raw, irritated, and painful.
  — Maressa Brown, SELF, 26 Mar. 2024
• What is painful is that her brother was dressed for the elements.
  — Holly Bailey, Washington Post, 28 Dec. 2022
• This was a painful decision for all of us to make and was not taken lightly.
  — Kirsty Hatcher, People.com, 1 Dec. 2024
• For others, the memories may simply be too painful to come back, Daryna said.
  — Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 30 Nov. 2024

Last Updated: 15 Dec 2024