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
Kat Lake considered declining to send a message of support to her fellow trans pinball players amid a painful rift.
—
Jo Yurcaba, NBC news, 31 Jan. 2026
The return of his body closed a painful chapter for the country and cleared the way for the next and more challenging phase of the ceasefire, which calls for deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas, pulling back Israeli soldiers and rebuilding Gaza.
—Arkansas Online, 30 Jan. 2026
The immigrants are shackled and placed on flights to detention facilities in Texas, where they are forced to recount painful asylum claims with limited or no contact with family members or attorneys, lawyers and advocates say.
—Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 30 Jan. 2026
One of the most painful issues Shanda encounters is judgment.
—Adrienne Farr, Parents, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for painful
Jo Yurcaba, NBC news, 31 Jan. 2026
The return of his body closed a painful chapter for the country and cleared the way for the next and more challenging phase of the ceasefire, which calls for deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas, pulling back Israeli soldiers and rebuilding Gaza.
—Arkansas Online, 30 Jan. 2026
The immigrants are shackled and placed on flights to detention facilities in Texas, where they are forced to recount painful asylum claims with limited or no contact with family members or attorneys, lawyers and advocates say.
—Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 30 Jan. 2026
One of the most painful issues Shanda encounters is judgment.
—Adrienne Farr, Parents, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for painful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for painful
Adjective
-
And the Gunners are feeling rather sore at the moment.—
Graham Ruthven,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Steph Curry labored through Sunday’s 111-85 victory with a sore knee, and he was ruled out for Monday’s game at Target Center.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Before Getting Started When cleaning your oven, try to avoid using harsh oven cleaners or using the self-cleaning feature.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The origin of clemency is understood through the Federalist Papers as a need for mercy in instances when the criminal justice system was too harsh.—
Kinsey Crowley,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
Young people are growing up in a climate that can feel cruel, divided or lonely.—
Julie Ruth Owen,
The Orlando Sentinel,
31 Jan. 2026
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And cutting nurses’ health care benefits is just cruel.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
September 22 Lucas Museum opens After a long, semi-torturous process, George Lucas’s grand vision for a public museum containing an impressive collection of paintings, drawings, and film memorabilia will finally come to fruition.—
Hillary Busis,
Vanity Fair,
22 Dec. 2025
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During this increasingly torturous adjustment period, Millie learns Nina spent some time in a psychiatric facility years earlier after allegedly leaving Cece to drown in a bathtub and taking enough pills to kill herself.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
19 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
An exciting yet excruciating playoff loss to the Seahawks doesn’t diminish the Rams’ accomplishments this season.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
-
For his family, the wait for justice has been excruciating.—
Larry Seward,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
His family spent an agonizing week searching through morgues, hospitals and detention facilities before finally identifying his body among piles of corpses, also shown in the viral footage.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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Her family would later make the agonizing decision to take her off life support.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
This is a fairly faithful rendition of the original, with bushy broccoli rabe as the bitter green of choice.—
Shilpa Uskokovic,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
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After their murders, their families sat in the bitter cold and grieved, waiting for the prime minister, Imran Khan, to come and mourn with them.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Painful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painful. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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