1
as in sore
causing or feeling bodily pain
a very painful toothache her broken arm was too painful for her to go on the trip
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in harsh
hard to accept or bear especially emotionally
it's been very painful to accept that my father is gone forever
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of painful
Puerto Rico’s colonial status makes the situation more painful.
—
Israel Melendez Ayala, Time, 16 Sep. 2025
But for one Reddit user, a second wedding anniversary became a painful reminder of unequal effort.
—Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2025
The clash between Subirachs’s style and Gaudí’s was painful.
—D. T. Max, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
By Tuesday night, two full and painful days after the Ravens blew a late 15-point lead in Buffalo and just under five days before Baltimore was set to host to a division rival, Smith and the defense were finally able to move on.
—Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for painful
Israel Melendez Ayala, Time, 16 Sep. 2025
But for one Reddit user, a second wedding anniversary became a painful reminder of unequal effort.
—Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2025
The clash between Subirachs’s style and Gaudí’s was painful.
—D. T. Max, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
By Tuesday night, two full and painful days after the Ravens blew a late 15-point lead in Buffalo and just under five days before Baltimore was set to host to a division rival, Smith and the defense were finally able to move on.
—Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for painful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for painful
Adjective
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Key Takeaways Epsom salt baths are commonly used to ease sore muscles, stress, and minor conditions like ingrown toenails.—
Mira Miller,
Verywell Health,
18 Sep. 2025
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Your throat could be sore or painful while swallowing for a number of reasons.—
Hannah Yasharoff,
USA Today,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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These findings highlight an urgent need to shield stem cells from the harsh realities of space.—
Pranjal Malewar,
New Atlas,
20 Sep. 2025
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Rain is coming, penciled in for an hour or two from now, and a harsh British wind is flinging leaves off branches and cloaking the countryside with something that smells dungy and damp.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
20 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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In this aching, unorthodox historical drama, Davies tells the story of the pacifist poet and veteran Siegfried Sassoon, whose experiences fighting in the First World War forever transformed him.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
5 Aug. 2025
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Braxton shares an aching need to be vulnerable only to realize by album’s end that such unions can result in horrible betrayal, her words of lament surrounded by swelling, lush orchestration.—
Clarence A. Haynes
July 3,
Literary Hub,
3 July 2025
Adjective
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Sena was crying in pain, and so were her new owners, who even questioned whether keeping her alive was cruel.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Sep. 2025
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Directed by Oliver Laxe, who’s been making waves at Cannes for years, the movie is funny and warm in parts, cruel and cold in others.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
20 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Within the film’s compact running time, writer-director Ben Hania traces the fraught and torturous hours of January 29, 2024, when Palestine Red Crescent volunteers in the West Bank tried to calm a terrified 6-year-old girl and get an ambulance to her in Gaza.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2025
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From the almost humorous to the truly torturous, being plunked into unknown wilderness in total isolation—which is what happens on Alone—results in all manner of strange mental phenomenon.—
Woniya Thibeault,
Outside,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Not that that made the experience any less excruciating for Young in the moment.—
Adam Grosbard,
Oc Register,
19 Sep. 2025
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These entries, laying out a monthslong plot in excruciating detail, revealed multiple visits to Tops Friendly Markets to survey the store’s layout and analyze a Google graph feature for the location’s busiest times.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The pair endured an agonizing drive to the hospital, unsure of Lulu's status — praying the entire way.—
Tabitha Parent,
PEOPLE,
18 Sep. 2025
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The 69-year-old's head lowered to the Hot Topics table over an agonizing host chat.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Yerevan now found itself in a hopeless situation, bereft of any real allies, its military in tatters, and an increasingly bitter Armenian public.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
21 Sep. 2025
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While this is a bane to many gardeners (bolting often renders plants bitter, woody, and inedible), in this strife also lies opportunity for those gardeners aiming toward environmental stewardship.—
Anthony Reardon,
Kansas City Star,
20 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Painful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painful. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
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