1
as in sore
causing or feeling bodily pain
a very painful toothache her broken arm was too painful for her to go on the trip
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in harsh
hard to accept or bear especially emotionally
it's been very painful to accept that my father is gone forever
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of painful
Surely, being a prophet destined to die on the cross would be a painful vocation, and the film refuses to look away from this pain.
—
Isaac Butler, New Yorker, 30 May 2026
Once that happens, ripping them out becomes painful.
—Matt Rogers, Fortune, 30 May 2026
One of the most painful things about this disease is knowing that promising treatments are emerging, but funding barriers and manufacturing and procedural slow-downs continue to derail progress.
—Elise Esposito, Boston Herald, 29 May 2026
However, while some folks may endure lingering nerve pain from a shingles complication called postherpetic neuralgia, that’s not the only stubborn side effect that can stick around after the painful, blistering rash subsides.
—Alyssa Sparacino, Glamour, 29 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for painful
Isaac Butler, New Yorker, 30 May 2026
Once that happens, ripping them out becomes painful.
—Matt Rogers, Fortune, 30 May 2026
One of the most painful things about this disease is knowing that promising treatments are emerging, but funding barriers and manufacturing and procedural slow-downs continue to derail progress.
—Elise Esposito, Boston Herald, 29 May 2026
However, while some folks may endure lingering nerve pain from a shingles complication called postherpetic neuralgia, that’s not the only stubborn side effect that can stick around after the painful, blistering rash subsides.
—Alyssa Sparacino, Glamour, 29 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for painful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for painful
Adjective
-
In the circle, the junior allowed just four hits and struck out nine despite a sore arm.—
Justin Vigil Zuniga,
Daily News,
28 May 2026
-
Righty reliever Garrett Whitlock had an injection for his sore left knee on Wednesday night.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
The table tells a harsher story.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 May 2026
-
The girls’ mother, who traveled to appear in court Thursday with Doe 8, called for a harsh punishment and described how O’Connor, once in Idaho, helped sneak out Doe 8 to see her son, at one point provided them a hotel room.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
But these are quibbles when a movie conjures a world as aching and in-between as the one in The Meltdown.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2026
-
Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain (1997) Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain is an aching, tender slow burn shaped by absence.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Electronic bugs are installed, secretaries listen in on every phone call and conversation, and rock 'n roll is banned in this cruel culture of absolute secrecy.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
29 May 2026
-
The slaughter of Australian infantry at the hands of Turkish guns on the coastal region of Gallipoli has become emblematic of the pointless loss of life during this cruel conflict.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
What Mary endures throughout Stappard’s debut is unquestionably torturous, but the writer/director never seems to take pleasure in orchestrating her or any other Māori characters’ suffering.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
17 May 2026
-
Many of the children didn’t survive the torturous experimentation, while others developed superpowers.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
And there’s nothing more excruciating than sweating bullets while impatiently waiting for the machine to lock up, signaling the ice cream is ready to eat.—
Josh Miller,
Southern Living,
31 May 2026
-
The treatment left her dealing with excruciating side effects for months, including a bout of pneumonia that forced her to spend Christmas in the hospital.—
Vanessa Etienne,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
Sarunya, here since 1999, is a familiar face to many, for sometimes agonizing but superlative reflexology.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
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But each of the past four seasons has produced an ending more agonizing than the last.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
31 May 2026
Adjective
-
This collection of poems—Orr’s thirteenth—bears bitter witness to environmental degradation, moral corruption, and the aging of a body and of a generation, all viewed from a bird’s eye, wrapped in the language and tone of myth.—
Craig Morgan Teicher,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
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Latest in bitter back-and-forth The sour words about each candidate’s PAC connections are only the latest in a bitter back-and-forth between the two Democrat women.—
Jennah Pendleton,
Sacbee.com,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Painful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painful. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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