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 first two goals were painful, but the third goal broke Moore.
  — Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2022
• The most painful part, many said, was being in the dark about their fate.
  — Miriam Berger, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024
• And this is the most painful part of the story: Over the years, the picture got lost.
  — Emily Heil, Washington Post, 22 June 2022
• The most painful scene of the episode belongs to Penelope and Eloise.
  — Sara Netzley, EW.com, 26 Mar. 2022
• Back home, the gloom of a painful work stoppage seemed far away.
  — Todd Robinson, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Aug. 2023
• But to turn all his grief and fury on Louis like this is painful.
  — Sara Netzley, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2022
• But this insect leaves one of the most painful bug bites.
  — Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 19 Jan. 2023
• Harper told the jury the chair was cramped and painful.
  — Jillian Price, ajc, 18 Oct. 2022
• But the lesions and blisters caused by the virus are painful.
  — Hartford Courant, 30 July 2022
• The rash was made up of tiny, reddish-brown spots that were painful.
  — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024
• That was just the first of a painful series of events in the New Jersey boy’s life.
  — Ethan Barton, Fox News, 10 Sep. 2022
• States on the East Coast have seen the most painful price increases at the pump.
  — al, 10 July 2022
• This is a small tear in the anal tissue that can make for very painful poops.
  — Demetria Wambia, SELF, 1 Mar. 2022
• In business, as in life, change is hard but doesn’t have to be painful.
  — Kian Bakhtiari, Forbes, 9 Aug. 2022
• 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
• And it’s the part of the story that makes everything else so painful.
  — Lauren Segal, Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2022
• While any seat lost is painful - some good Democrats didn't win the last night - Democrats had a strong night.
  — Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 10 Nov. 2022
• 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
• Seeing so many kids get their hands on guns is painful!
  — Alex Vejar, The Salt Lake Tribune, 25 May 2022
• 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
• Other setbacks, while less painful, were no less sorrowful.
  — David Litt june 25, Literary Hub, 25 June 2025
• Once Schaefer’s emotional moment was done, the rest of the conversations ranged from mildly awkward to borderline painful.
  — Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 28 June 2025