as in bitterly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
painfully she recounted the difficult relationship she had with her mother
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Recent Examples of painfully
My day in court is painfully overdue.
—
Brenton Blanchet, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025
Previously, the story followed Zagreus, the painfully cool son of Hades who spent his days making a break for the surface world to escape the overbearing grip of his father.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2025
The comment is clearly offensive, prompting a painfully uncomfortable conversation in which Patrick is forced to confront his quasi-racist expectations.
—James Factora, Them., 26 Sep. 2025
List, who also grew up in the Boston area, and Dustin are ride-or-die friends, and their conversations are sometimes painfully direct.
—Frank Digiacomo, Billboard, 26 Sep. 2025
Undernutrition deaths happen ‘almost every month’ Hassan Abubakar Bukar, a nutrition counsellor in Borno, told CNN that malnourished children are a painfully common sight.
—Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 21 Sep. 2025
The dynamic between them begins to shift—imperceptibly, naturally, painfully.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2025
Prolific over a painfully brief career, Manzoni was one of the most radical artists of the postwar avant-garde in Italy, active between the late 1950s until his death in 1963.
—Natasha Gural, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
This is forcing the secondary to have to guard for longer extended times, and that was painfully obvious on Sunday.
—Mark Kern, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Brenton Blanchet, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025
Previously, the story followed Zagreus, the painfully cool son of Hades who spent his days making a break for the surface world to escape the overbearing grip of his father.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2025
The comment is clearly offensive, prompting a painfully uncomfortable conversation in which Patrick is forced to confront his quasi-racist expectations.
—James Factora, Them., 26 Sep. 2025
List, who also grew up in the Boston area, and Dustin are ride-or-die friends, and their conversations are sometimes painfully direct.
—Frank Digiacomo, Billboard, 26 Sep. 2025
Undernutrition deaths happen ‘almost every month’ Hassan Abubakar Bukar, a nutrition counsellor in Borno, told CNN that malnourished children are a painfully common sight.
—Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 21 Sep. 2025
The dynamic between them begins to shift—imperceptibly, naturally, painfully.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2025
Prolific over a painfully brief career, Manzoni was one of the most radical artists of the postwar avant-garde in Italy, active between the late 1950s until his death in 1963.
—Natasha Gural, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
This is forcing the secondary to have to guard for longer extended times, and that was painfully obvious on Sunday.
—Mark Kern, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for painfully
Adverb
-
Joe Garcia spoke bitterly about the decline of governance on both sides of the Straits of Florida.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
-
At the start of the season, the Braves lost seven in a row, setting the tone for a bitterly disappointing campaign.—
Jackson Roberts,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
Liver surgery followed and more chemotherapy but sadly the cancer has continued to spread.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Oct. 2025
-
The film and book's title, as Abbott explained on Zoom ahead of the film's release, expresses their unique world—one that sadly wasn’t built to last.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
7 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Nobody worked harder in practice, and that became contagious to his teammates.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
The best curtains on Amazon are hard-working pieces of home decor.—
Shoko Wanger,
Architectural Digest,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Painfully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painfully. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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