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
And a long, and painful season, which nobody in the organization can afford.
—
Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 27 Apr. 2025
Probably the most painful parts of my writing were the losses of my mother, my father, of my [cousin] Johnny, of Solange's best friend.
—Janine Rubenstein, People.com, 26 Apr. 2025
Strep Throat Strep throat is a bacterial infection that causes an extremely painful, sore throat.
—Anju Goel, Verywell Health, 26 Apr. 2025
In the Copa del Rey, Madrid have suffered the most embarrassing and painful results in their history.
—Guillermo Rai, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for painful
Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 27 Apr. 2025
Probably the most painful parts of my writing were the losses of my mother, my father, of my [cousin] Johnny, of Solange's best friend.
—Janine Rubenstein, People.com, 26 Apr. 2025
Strep Throat Strep throat is a bacterial infection that causes an extremely painful, sore throat.
—Anju Goel, Verywell Health, 26 Apr. 2025
In the Copa del Rey, Madrid have suffered the most embarrassing and painful results in their history.
—Guillermo Rai, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for painful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for painful
Adjective
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The phone call and ensuing negotiations quickly became a sore point between the U.S., Europe, and Ukraine.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
3 May 2025
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This is a fanbase which has been through the ringer between the sticks, but Darlow’s been a sight for sore eyes.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
Adjective
-
Vietnamese refugees who got a warm welcome from America puzzle at family separations, harsh rhetoric In Vietnam, Lam had owned three companies.—
Anh Do,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2025
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President Donald Trump has launched harsh immigration actions in his first 100 days in office—detaining more people for immigration violations, allowing arrests outside schools and courthouses, and sending more than 200 Venezuelan men to be imprisoned in El Salvador.—
Brian Bennett,
Time,
29 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
-
But this is the cruel and unreasonable state of this Administration's deportation policy.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Apr. 2025
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Such evidence could support the view that incessant loud noise amounts to torture or cruel treatment towards cetaceans, in turn galvanizing support for a new right to be free from such harm.—
David Gruber,
Time,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Before embarking on an NBA career that's already filled with exhilarating highs and torturous lows, Pritchard helped lead the Oregon Ducks to their first Final Four appearance since the inaugural NCAA men's basketball tournament.—
Bobby Krivitsky,
Forbes.com,
16 Apr. 2025
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This is like one of Larry David's torturous self-debates on Curb Your Enthusiasm, but without his perverse genius, his wheedling, preening hostility.—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Bannon, who owns a marketing company, then began experiencing excruciating stomach pains and lost 14 pounds in just a month, which doctors blamed on acid reflux.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
24 Apr. 2025
-
From the moment Gabriel Landeskog stepped on the ice for warmups, Ball Arena was rocking, but the joy gave way to excruciating tension as the game went on — until Tyler Seguin scored off a Mason Marchment feed at 5:31 of overtime to give the Stars a 2-1 win and a 2-1 series lead.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The roughly 6,000 employees in Kansas City faced agonizing choices: decide whether to accept resignation or early retirement offers by April 14 or risk losing their jobs later.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
21 Apr. 2025
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Another has equipment so inadequate that the city has to ship samples to a state lab 150 miles away, causing inefficiencies, agonizing waits for results and delayed response times.—
Ryan J. Foley,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Her coverage has ranged from a rare interview with Mark Zuckerberg as Meta neared its 20th birthday to the bitter divorce proceedings of an Indian software billionaire.—
Kerry A. Dolan,
Forbes.com,
29 Apr. 2025
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Trump's second term kicked off late January with mass layoffs in the federal government, widespread tariffs, an escalating trade war with China and a deportation program that has led to a bitter court battle.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Painful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painful. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
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