painful

[peyn-fuhl] / ˈpeɪn fəl /

ADJECTIVE

physically or mentally agonizing

Synonyms

STRONGEST

agonizing arduous awful difficult dire distasteful distressing excruciating hard harrowing heart-wrenching hurtful severe tedious terrible troublesome uncomfortable unpleasant

WEAK

aching afflictive biting burning caustic disagreeable dreadful extreme extremely bad grievous hurting inflamed irritated laborious piercing raw saddening sensitive sharp smarting sore stinging tender throbbing tormenting trying vexatious

Antonyms

STRONGEST

agreeable calm easy facile friendly good great helpful mild nice pleasant pleasing simple wonderful

WEAK

delightful painless

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“It’s a very painful and hard thing to do,” Kanekar said of deploying FDEs.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026

The moment right after the light turns green is the most painful for Antonio Fernandez, too.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

The Oklahoma City Thunder condemned the Los Angeles Lakers to one of the heaviest defeats in their history - one made more painful by an injury to star Luka Doncic.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

Compounding this painful apathy is the fact that state officials were made aware of the burial ground by at least the 1970s.

From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026

A large, robust, athletic man, Washington was plagued by headaches, stomach troubles, and bouts of rheumatism—a painful condition affecting the joints such as knees and elbows.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

painful

Example Sentences

Related Words