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
When cases do move forward, justice is often partial and painfully slow, with proceedings stretching on for years and often failing to bring those ultimately responsible to justice.
—
Scott Griffen, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Even if inflation was falling, prices were still rising – just more slowly, and from painfully high levels.
—David Goldman, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2025
Quayle was painfully aware of this.
—Time, 3 Nov. 2025
The differences between East Coast and Midwestern mentalities had become painfully apparent.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 3 Nov. 2025
In two Premier League games in charge, Dyche has found himself on the wrong end of two painfully similar decisions.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
In the United States, bipartisan consensus is painfully hard to achieve—except on the issue of China.
—Mira Rapp-Hooper, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
Nothing except my ankle, which was throbbing painfully.
—Literary Hub, 24 Oct. 2025
This has become painfully obvious of late, but nonprofit, public, and trust-owned models have their own vulnerabilities, too.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Scott Griffen, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Even if inflation was falling, prices were still rising – just more slowly, and from painfully high levels.
—David Goldman, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2025
Quayle was painfully aware of this.
—Time, 3 Nov. 2025
The differences between East Coast and Midwestern mentalities had become painfully apparent.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 3 Nov. 2025
In two Premier League games in charge, Dyche has found himself on the wrong end of two painfully similar decisions.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
In the United States, bipartisan consensus is painfully hard to achieve—except on the issue of China.
—Mira Rapp-Hooper, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
Nothing except my ankle, which was throbbing painfully.
—Literary Hub, 24 Oct. 2025
This has become painfully obvious of late, but nonprofit, public, and trust-owned models have their own vulnerabilities, too.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for painfully
Adverb
-
The Thrombeys argue bitterly about politics, money, and immigration.—
Anna Russell,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
-
The federal government shutdown enters its 21st day – headed toward its fourth week – as Democrats and Republicans remain bitterly divided over how to resolve rising health care costs.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
But, sadly, the symptoms continued.—
Lisa Vernon-Sparks,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Nov. 2025
-
There was sadly no chance for Soundgarden to stage a complete reunion, but drummer Matt Cameron, guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassists Ben Shepherd and Hiro Yamamoto were all on hand to honor the late Chris Cornell.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
9 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
That can take nefarious forms, such as hypothetically hard-coding cheaper ticket prices into the site that are hidden to human users but visible to AI bots, making the platform seem like a more affordable option to the computer model.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
10 Nov. 2025
-
The show’s second season, based on Mona Kasten’s book Save You, follows the first installment, which found James Beaufort (Damien Hardung) and Ruby Bell (Harriet Herbig-Matten) go from enemies to lovers as the both worked hard to get into Oxford.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Painfully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painfully. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
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