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
What transpired Tuesday night revealed a painful, undeniable reality: Right now, this Magic team does not compare to the overachieving squad that nearly eliminated the Cavaliers last postseason.
—
Josh Robbins, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
Being set free and home was a joy on one hand, but also painful.
—J.m. Banks, Kansas City Star, 25 Feb. 2025
An ultimate taboo, disclosing the impulse to kill one's child must be an unthinkably painful admission.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 16 Feb. 2025
Watching De Zerbi trying to use a threadbare squad last season was painful at times.
—Andy Naylor, The Athletic, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for painful
Josh Robbins, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
Being set free and home was a joy on one hand, but also painful.
—J.m. Banks, Kansas City Star, 25 Feb. 2025
An ultimate taboo, disclosing the impulse to kill one's child must be an unthinkably painful admission.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 16 Feb. 2025
Watching De Zerbi trying to use a threadbare squad last season was painful at times.
—Andy Naylor, The Athletic, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for painful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for painful
Adjective
-
He was slowed by a lingering back injury and tried to play through a sore knee.—
Patrick Saunders,
The Denver Post,
1 Mar. 2025
-
Kawhi Leonard had 17 points and eight rebounds after missing back-to-back games because of a sore left foot.—
Houston Mitchell,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Her lyric vocal writing contends with harsh reality, but her style is never far from profound rapture.—
Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Feb. 2025
-
The 79-year-old Oscar winner embraces the challenging role of the Dutton family matriarch alongside co-star Harrison Ford, confronting everything from mountain lions to the harsh realities of frontier life.—
Holly Williams,
CBS News,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Somebody Somewhere is tiny: a gorgeous, introspective, intimate story about a woman with devastatingly mundane problems whose chief obstacle is her own aching sense of grief and dislocation.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
9 Dec. 2024
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In this novel about the shape-shifting nature of love, Parsons captures Kit’s grief in aching and honest terms.—
Annabel Gutterman,
TIME,
6 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
As mere surrogates, the Trump-DeSantis fight to outdo each other through mean and cruel policies will go on.—
Letters to the Editor,
Orlando Sentinel,
6 Mar. 2025
-
Immigration advocates call the crackdown cruel and wrongheaded and warn that many Latino U.S. citizens will likely suffer violations of their civil rights and possibly even get mistakenly deported.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The Lombardi is more Holy Grail than trophy, the end of what can only be described as a torturous emotional pilgrimage.—
Ali Watkins,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2025
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Getting rid of the death penalty also would bring a close to these torturous years of appeals for so many of us.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
In late 2019, sudden, excruciating pain in my pelvis sent me to the emergency room.—
Katrina Martin,
Health,
4 Mar. 2025
-
The finish is long on the palate with an excruciating persistence of coal and extinguished forest fire.—
Emily Price,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Otherwise, we’ll still be mired in this same agonizing debate.—
Sammy Roth,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2025
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Perhaps no vote was as agonizing for Senator Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican and medical doctor, than his vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as President Trump’s health secretary.—
Sheryl Gay Stolberg,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The bitter exchange was unlike any other in the Oval Office in modern times. 13:43 With Ukraine's future in the balance, a high-stakes meeting on Friday between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy devolved into a shouting match.—
Alexandra Hutzler,
ABC News,
28 Feb. 2025
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But there are some whiskey fans who crave high-proof spirits the way others will seek out intensely hoppy beer or extremely bitter amaro: the more extreme, the better, full stop.—
Jonah Flicker,
Robb Report,
27 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Painful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painful. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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