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
This has most painfully affected public-school teachers.
—
Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 12 May 2026
The Connecticut Sun hoped this season would be different from its dismal record in 2025, but the team’s performance in its 2026 opener against the New York Liberty on Friday night felt painfully familiar.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 9 May 2026
The recent coverage of a cruise ship hit with a deadly hantavirus outbreak is painfully familiar to cruisers who spent days and weeks trapped in their cabins at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 9 May 2026
Space kills with patience, and often much more painfully than the instant deaths depicted in cinema, unfolding over seconds, days, minutes, or even years.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 8 May 2026
Even if ongoing negotiations lead to a de-escalation, the logistical backlog will take quarters to unwind, keeping energy prices structurally supported, to say nothing of the need to replenish strategic petroleum reserves; an important insurance policy as the world has now been painfully reminded.
—Michael Khouw, CNBC, 6 May 2026
Great performances always are difficult to judge against each other —sometimes painfully so.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 6 May 2026
There was a painfully short time between then and Ed’s diagnosis, which came in October of 1987.
—Emilie Hardman, JSTOR Daily, 6 May 2026
The meme was dark, ridiculous and painfully accurate.
—Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 May 2026
Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 12 May 2026
The Connecticut Sun hoped this season would be different from its dismal record in 2025, but the team’s performance in its 2026 opener against the New York Liberty on Friday night felt painfully familiar.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 9 May 2026
The recent coverage of a cruise ship hit with a deadly hantavirus outbreak is painfully familiar to cruisers who spent days and weeks trapped in their cabins at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 9 May 2026
Space kills with patience, and often much more painfully than the instant deaths depicted in cinema, unfolding over seconds, days, minutes, or even years.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 8 May 2026
Even if ongoing negotiations lead to a de-escalation, the logistical backlog will take quarters to unwind, keeping energy prices structurally supported, to say nothing of the need to replenish strategic petroleum reserves; an important insurance policy as the world has now been painfully reminded.
—Michael Khouw, CNBC, 6 May 2026
Great performances always are difficult to judge against each other —sometimes painfully so.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 6 May 2026
There was a painfully short time between then and Ed’s diagnosis, which came in October of 1987.
—Emilie Hardman, JSTOR Daily, 6 May 2026
The meme was dark, ridiculous and painfully accurate.
—Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for painfully
Adverb
-
The trial has dragged on for six years in a case that has bitterly divided the Israeli public.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The eight men at the center of this book shared the common experience of being born before the Civil War, when this country was bitterly divided over slavery.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
25 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
With his partner Nick Pihakis, Scott franchised out a few locations of his restaurant across the Southeastern US, but sadly news broke this week that the restaurants are facing multiple lawsuits for unpaid bills and loans.—
Sam Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
8 May 2026
-
To your point, there’s just so many red carpets now, so sadly the moment doesn’t linger anymore.—
José Criales-Unzueta,
Vanity Fair,
6 May 2026
Adverb
-
Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.—
Madhuri Vijay,
New Yorker,
16 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
Our team plays the game pretty hard and always looks for extra bases.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
-
In an individual sport, removed from any team dynamic, the results board made the fairness debate hard to ignore.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
9 May 2026
Adverb
-
For their part, Democratic leaders spoke mournfully of limits, of energy shortages, of national decline, of a crisis of confidence itself.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
-
Based on the Dylan Thomas prose poem of the same name, published in 1952, the film lovingly and mournfully depicts the boyhood Christmastime of an old Welshman, tenderly and a tad mischievously embodied by Elliott.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
21 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Painfully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painfully. Accessed 12 May. 2026.
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