Synonyms of painfully

painfully

adverb

as in bitterly

with feelings of bitterness or grief

painfully she recounted the difficult relationship she had with her mother

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bitterly
• sadly
• sorrowfully
• hard
• mournfully
• agonizingly
• sharply
• woefully
• harshly
• unhappily
• grievously
• regretfully
• severely
• wretchedly
• lugubriously
• ruefully
• dolorously
• resentfully
• dolefully
• sorely
• wailfully
• inconsolably
• plaintively
• hardly
• miserably
• distressingly
• abjectly
• despairingly
• dismally
• cheerlessly
• drearily
• acutely
• dispiritedly
• distressfully
• dejectedly
• darkly
• poignantly
• somberly
• joylessly
• disconsolately
• despondently
• cruelly
• forlornly
• glumly
• morosely
• sullenly
• blackly
• keenly
• pessimistically
• piercingly
• dourly
• gloomily
• mirthlessly
• hurtfully
• ill
• downheartedly
• crestfallenly
• low-spiritedly
• rancorously

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• blissfully
• happily
• joyfully
• joyously
• gladly
• cheerfully
• gleefully
• easily
• merrily
• delightedly
• cheerily
• lightly
• lightheartedly
• casually
• calmly
• gaily
• stoically
• blithely
• indifferently
• dispassionately
• nonchalantly
• unconcernedly
• impassively
• well
• sunnily
• mirthfully
• favorably
• good-naturedly
• rejoicingly
• blithesomely

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of painfully

In applications like video calls, Xittel and Starlink’s round-trip signal delays became painfully obvious. — IEEE Spectrum, 30 July 2026

Besides the hike in energy use and cost, being home more often has led to more people becoming painfully aware of how poorly their systems run. — Alora Bopray, USA Today, 30 July 2026

Disaster can strike in regions unaccustomed to their fury, as North Carolinians in the western end of the state painfully learned in 2024 as Hurricane Helene deluged the region. — Jamie Gold, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026

At the second Petco, another cashier—this one an elderly woman with a painfully tight bun and a cat named Rebecca—tells me the same thing. — Literary Hub, 27 July 2026

In the cycle event, Keegan fell off his bike and landed very painfully. — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 25 July 2026

Buffalo Bills The Bills came up painfully short in their quest for a Super Bowl, and coach Sean McDermott got fired. — Mike Jones, New York Times, 22 July 2026

Back when Pitchfork could make or break bands, the website championed the London outfit, propelling the unlikely quintet from dorky purveyors of melodic dance songs to champions of the painfully cool. — David Harris, SPIN, 21 July 2026

All of it was painfully misguided, as though the host nation were actively trying to self-mythologize instead of just hosting. — Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 20 July 2026