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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of painful
The painful demographic reality is that for an ever-growing number of places in the United States, population growth is slowing.
—
Christopher Briem, The Conversation, 12 June 2026
San Antonio has suffered a series of humbling tragicomedies, each more painful than the last.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 12 June 2026
Stepping on one could result in a painful, venom-laden puncture wound.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 12 June 2026
The answer is no, but what does go down is something just as sad and painful.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for painful
Christopher Briem, The Conversation, 12 June 2026
San Antonio has suffered a series of humbling tragicomedies, each more painful than the last.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 12 June 2026
Stepping on one could result in a painful, venom-laden puncture wound.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 12 June 2026
The answer is no, but what does go down is something just as sad and painful.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for painful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for painful
Adjective
-
Clark has missed only one game this season — a home matchup against the Portland Fire on May 20, due to a sore back.—
James Boyd,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
-
Maikel Garcia exits game The Royals were hit with another injury when Garcia was removed with a sore left hand in the sixth inning.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
Ahead of the holiday, the City of Rancho Cordova is cracking down with much harsher penalties.—
Brady Halbleib,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
-
Members of his party who want even harsher border controls have splintered off to form Restore Britain, which has gained support from Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who is vociferously backing it on his X platform.—
Alexander Smith,
NBC news,
18 June 2026
Adjective
-
The homestretch of the drama, however, takes the story in a chilling direction, packing an aching quantity of feeling into a single glance at a security camera as someone climbs into a car and leaves the compound, never to be heard from again.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
26 May 2026
-
Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain (1997) Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain is an aching, tender slow burn shaped by absence.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Passing a child who is unprepared may be the cruelest act of all.—
Harriette Cole,
Mercury News,
20 June 2026
-
This is your news to share or not share; posting about this on Facebook strikes me as cruel.—
Eric Thomas,
Sun Sentinel,
20 June 2026
Adjective
-
Good luck—these tiny, torturous bugs seem to be hard to dispose of, but there is a way to lure them in and disable them.—
Meghan Overdeep,
Southern Living,
16 June 2026
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Shinnecock Hills is full of triangles — sneaky but massive, and always torturous triangles.—
Gabby Herzig,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
The new Failure album that came out of that excruciating time, Location Lost, is the eccentric, gorgeous sound of the band working through that crisis.—
Steve Appleford,
SPIN,
16 June 2026
-
This goes on for two excruciating minutes.—
Megan Greenwell,
Bloomberg,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
Gruesome as his actions might be, they were done in the hope of sparing a child from an even more agonizing end.—
Josh Weiss,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
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Settling on Heise, Pannek and Rooney as the first three players to protect was agonizing, Caruso and Klee said.—
John Shipley,
Twin Cities,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
The ruling adds to a string of legal setbacks for Musk in his increasingly bitter feud with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
15 June 2026
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While this winter was colder and snowier than previous years, snowfall on the ground acted much like a blanket for ticks, providing shelter and warmth against the bitter cold temperatures.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
15 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Painful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painful. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
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