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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of painful
There’s also still time for the season to be frustrating and painful in all the wrong ways.
—
Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2025
Hair Styling and Coloring Certain hairstyles can be painful or worsen scalp psoriasis.
—Sarah Bence, Otr/l, Verywell Health, 2 Apr. 2025
These conditions can be uncomfortable or painful and impact one's daily activities and mental health.4
The new guidelines suggest doing daily pelvic floor muscle training to try and prevent urinary incontinence, a very common postpartum condition.
—Melissa Willets, Parents, 2 Apr. 2025
The recent swoon, while painful for current shareholders, has driven the headline yield up to 6% and has driven valuations down—NOG trades for 7 times earnings estimates and at a low price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 0.56 (anything below 1 is considered to be undervalued).
—Brett Owens, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for painful
Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2025
Hair Styling and Coloring Certain hairstyles can be painful or worsen scalp psoriasis.
—Sarah Bence, Otr/l, Verywell Health, 2 Apr. 2025
These conditions can be uncomfortable or painful and impact one's daily activities and mental health.4
The new guidelines suggest doing daily pelvic floor muscle training to try and prevent urinary incontinence, a very common postpartum condition.
—Melissa Willets, Parents, 2 Apr. 2025
The recent swoon, while painful for current shareholders, has driven the headline yield up to 6% and has driven valuations down—NOG trades for 7 times earnings estimates and at a low price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 0.56 (anything below 1 is considered to be undervalued).
—Brett Owens, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for painful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for painful
Adjective
-
Middleton was said to be extremely sore the past few days, but considering what could have happened when Bo Horvat pushed him from behind so far from the boards, that’s relatively good news.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2025
-
Power forward Aaron Gordon was also questionable with an illness and a sore right calf.—
Jason D. Greenblatt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Donald Trump defended his harsh new tariffs on Saturday Night Live this week — and maybe took a swipe at last week’s musical guest, too.—
Dave Nemetz,
TVLine,
5 Apr. 2025
-
When the father tried to explain himself, the women criticized him for being too harsh.—
Ashley Vega,
People.com,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Somebody Somewhere is tiny: a gorgeous, introspective, intimate story about a woman with devastatingly mundane problems whose chief obstacle is her own aching sense of grief and dislocation.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
9 Dec. 2024
-
In this novel about the shape-shifting nature of love, Parsons captures Kit’s grief in aching and honest terms.—
Annabel Gutterman,
TIME,
6 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
What's particularly cruel about that reality is that after years of dealing with questions about his weight, the former Duke Blue Devil star played a career-high 70 games in 2023-24.—
Bobby Krivitsky,
Forbes.com,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Here, Munir may be vaccinating chickens rather than grabbing them on their way to slaughter, but the work is just as thankless and cruel.—
Bartolomeo Sala,
The Dial,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Pair this struggle with the painstaking awareness that sleep is essential for your daily functioning, and sleep deprivation can quickly become maddening — or even torturous.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
2 Apr. 2025
-
But the stubborn Pharaoh continued his torturous ways.—
Holly Rizzuto Palker,
Parents,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
March Madness has been as entertaining as ever, with the men’s and women’s tournaments filled with stunning performances, thrilling finishes and excruciating heartbreak.—
Bob Harkins,
New York Times,
27 Mar. 2025
-
That was thrilling, nail-biting and excruciating all at the same time.—
Baltimore Sun staff,
Baltimore Sun,
24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
There are differing accounts of the agonizing dispute as residents and their homeowners association tried to stop the new condo.—
Linda Robertson,
Miami Herald,
1 Apr. 2025
-
One in two children under 5 are acutely malnourished; over 537,000 suffer from severe acute malnutrition, a condition that is agonizing, life-threatening and entirely preventable.—
Sarah Ferguson,
Forbes.com,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The bitter dispute recently tipped into its fourth consecutive month and has escalated.—
Anna Cooban,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2025
-
What really set it apart was its unique flavor, with a bitter edge akin to horseradish or wasabi.—
Sam Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
3 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Painful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painful. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share