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
This is especially painful for lower-wage workers, who often live paycheck-to-paycheck and may have minimal savings for emergencies.
—
Matt Egan, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
An unwinding could be even more painful today, as the top tech stocks account for roughly 35% of the S&P 500 Index, compared with less than 15% in 1999.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025
This was a painful process for them because most of the leftists in Israel left the country in the wake of these events.
—Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
Is hair transplantation a painful procedure?
—Lyssanoel Frater, IndyStar, 6 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for painful
Matt Egan, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
An unwinding could be even more painful today, as the top tech stocks account for roughly 35% of the S&P 500 Index, compared with less than 15% in 1999.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025
This was a painful process for them because most of the leftists in Israel left the country in the wake of these events.
—Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
Is hair transplantation a painful procedure?
—Lyssanoel Frater, IndyStar, 6 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for painful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for painful
Adjective
-
The wife noted that her broken arm is still sore.—
Brian Anthony Hernandez,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Max Strus is already out for the first part of the season after an offseason Jones fracture, while presumptive starting forward De’Andre Hunter has never played more than 67 games in a season, and his persistently sore knees require constant monitoring.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The triumphant narrative began to fray when exceedingly harsh lockdown measures could no longer contain the spread of the virus, and the staggering human cost in the name of protecting lives defied all logic.—
Yangyang Cheng,
NPR,
4 Oct. 2025
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There are no easy fixes, so figuring out how to cushion the harsh impact will be the basis of negotiations with other parties in the Japanese legislature, the Diet.—
Jeff Kingston,
Time,
4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
In this aching, unorthodox historical drama, Davies tells the story of the pacifist poet and veteran Siegfried Sassoon, whose experiences fighting in the First World War forever transformed him.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
5 Aug. 2025
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Braxton shares an aching need to be vulnerable only to realize by album’s end that such unions can result in horrible betrayal, her words of lament surrounded by swelling, lush orchestration.—
Clarence A. Haynes
July 3,
Literary Hub,
3 July 2025
Adjective
-
That’s actually the cruelest thing about them.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The cold on August 27, 2011, was unprecedented—unbridled, utterly cruel.—
Mariana Enriquez
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Bertino’s chamber piece unfolds over one torturous night and will be exclusive to Paramount’s streaming platform following its world premiere at Fantastic Fest in September.—
Brian Tallerico,
Vulture,
1 Oct. 2025
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The longtime actor and multi-faceted filmmaker crafts an unhinged, go-for-broke performance as a legendary quarterback putting his potential heir apparent (Tyriq Withers) through a psychologically torturous training camp.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
In August, Lance Johnson woke up in the middle of the night with excruciating stomach pain in his lower right side.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
2 Oct. 2025
-
The headline is that Europe pulled off a stunning victory on foreign soil, a win that was at times breathtaking and breathless, exhilarating and excruciating in equal measure.—
Don Riddell,
CNN Money,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The worried mom immediately booked a flight from Virginia to Colorado, which was an agonizing trip.—
Sam Gillette,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
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But as the search at the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in Sidoarjo, about 420 miles east of Jakarta, entered its fourth day on Thursday, Indonesian authorities made the agonizing decision to move from rescue to recovery.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Seventeen years is pretty old for a bourbon, but in this case the whiskey is not overtaken by bitter tannic oak notes.—
Jonah Flicker,
Robb Report,
5 Oct. 2025
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But the most bitter had to be crooner Eddie Fisher, her fourth husband, who suffered the public humiliation of leaving his wife Debbie Reynolds for her (as well as their daughter Carrie), then getting dumped for Burton.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
4 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Painful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painful. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.
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