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
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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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Recent Examples of painful
While many salivary duct stones can pass without treatment, symptoms of swelling and painful eating persist until the stone is removed.
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Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 27 Dec. 2024
Garcia’s death was a painful reminder of the challenges she and other trans people are forced to overcome, her older sister, Maria Tuch, said.
—Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 26 Dec. 2024
Antibiotics can treat the infection, but only if it’s caught within the first few weeks, before the arrival of the exhausting, painful cough.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 26 Dec. 2024
After all, a ring that is too big can easily slip off, while a ring that’s too small can be painful.
—Shelby Wax, Vogue, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for painful 
Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 27 Dec. 2024
Garcia’s death was a painful reminder of the challenges she and other trans people are forced to overcome, her older sister, Maria Tuch, said.
—Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 26 Dec. 2024
Antibiotics can treat the infection, but only if it’s caught within the first few weeks, before the arrival of the exhausting, painful cough.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 26 Dec. 2024
After all, a ring that is too big can easily slip off, while a ring that’s too small can be painful.
—Shelby Wax, Vogue, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for painful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for painful
Adjective
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Lip cancer is an oral cancer that first develops on the lips, usually causing an open sore or painful lump.Carrie Madormo, RN, Health, 31 Dec. 2024
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With New Year’s Eve festivities that often lead to sore heads the next day, a slew of brands have responded with solutions that claim to ease the morning after pain and the post-alcohol scaries with supplements, patches and more.Emily Burns, WWD, 31 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The cast and crew weathered extremely harsh conditions in the New Mexico mountains for 13 months to film this six-episode limited series, which premieres on January 9.Dana Feldman, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
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However, imposing harsher penalties for repeat offenders was what drove support for Proposition 36.Koko Nakajima, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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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
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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
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By the time Lovely Runner’s series finale dropped in late May, millions of K-drama fans around the world had become invested in the story of Sol and Sun-jae, desperate to find out if their love could withstand the cruel vagaries of fate.Kayti Burt, TIME, 18 Dec. 2024
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Some Rochester residents disagree and find their city’s methods excessively cruel to the birds.Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Another year, another torturous Saturday Night Live episode for Colin Jost.EW.com, EW.com, 22 Dec. 2024
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Previously, when companies came to the government to request data access, there was a torturous process of approvals.IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 10 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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This has been an excruciating season for the Browns, their coach, and especially for Winston, the backup quarterback to starter Deshaun Watson, who has missed most of the season with a torn Achilles tendon.Jim Ingraham, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
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Ewing’s left foot was so badly injured that putting any pressure on it caused excruciating pain, even a year later.Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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This was spelled out by the 13th and 14th Five-Year Plans, which also conceded that such reform would be agonizing.Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
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For too many of us, the death penalty has only prolonged an already agonizing experience with a lengthy process that leaves us with more pain, despair, and isolation.Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The results left the Republicans reduced, bitter and more desperate than ever for a new hero.Peter Goldman, Newsweek, 29 Dec. 2024
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Collard greens are a beloved staple in Southern and African American cuisine, celebrated for their hearty texture, slightly bitter taste, and ability to absorb bold flavors.Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 29 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near painful
Cite this Entry
“Painful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painful. Accessed 7 Jan. 2025.
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