as in bitterly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
painfully she recounted the difficult relationship she had with her mother
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for painfully
Adverb
-
Founder Joseph Fischer acknowledges that sadly, talent alone isn’t enough in sports recruitment.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2025 -
New York City could choose to double down on these punitive policies of the past that undermine public safety, and, sadly, this agenda has gained steam.—
Stanley Richards,
New York Daily News,
27 Apr. 2025
Adverb
-
And the foundation was good, and Ray had to expand on it and had to work hard.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
3 May 2025
-
Even though there could be more attacks, emergency workers are on the ground putting out fires and cleaning up damage as medical staff worked hard to help the injured.—
Dragana Jovanovic,
ABC News,
3 May 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Painfully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painfully. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share