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
To avoid a painful shutdown, Congress will need to pass legislation designating new spending level or extend current ones.
—
Riley Beggin, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
Handling Nail Changes Nails can become brittle, discolored, or even painful during cancer treatment.
—Julie Scott, Msn, Anp-Bc, Aocnp, Verywell Health, 11 Feb. 2025
In December 2019, Ljungberg was interim manager for a game against City that was bitterly painful for Arsenal.
—Amy Lawrence, The Athletic, 3 Feb. 2025
Expensive avocados, just in time for the Super Bowl
For American consumers still exasperated by high grocery prices, a trade war with Canada and Mexico could be painful.
—Paul Wiseman, Chicago Tribune, 2 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for painful 
Riley Beggin, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
Handling Nail Changes Nails can become brittle, discolored, or even painful during cancer treatment.
—Julie Scott, Msn, Anp-Bc, Aocnp, Verywell Health, 11 Feb. 2025
In December 2019, Ljungberg was interim manager for a game against City that was bitterly painful for Arsenal.
—Amy Lawrence, The Athletic, 3 Feb. 2025
Expensive avocados, just in time for the Super Bowl
For American consumers still exasperated by high grocery prices, a trade war with Canada and Mexico could be painful.
—Paul Wiseman, Chicago Tribune, 2 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for painful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for painful
Adjective
-
Each set has two pre-spoons ideal for purées, doubling as a teether for sore gums, and an open-channel spoon for gripping to soft solids.—
Nora Colomer,
Fox News,
8 Feb. 2025
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In the series finale, Belle arrives late to Milla’s funeral, sticking out like a sore thumb amid friends and family burdened by genuine grief.—
Erin Jensen,
USA TODAY,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The delays follow the National Weather Service (NWS) issuing a warning over harsh weather for residents of Huntersville and Gastonia in North Carolina, which is also affecting the Charlotte Douglas Airport.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
16 Feb. 2025
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The protest was not politically motivated, but demonstrations in the country can sometimes lead to political unrest under the harsh regime.—
Brie Stimson,
Fox News,
16 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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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
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The current government’s purposeful misrepresentation and defamation of DEI in such a comprehensively cruel and malicious manner deserves nothing less than personal and communal outrage and resistance.—
Dr. Tony Lux,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2025
-
Immigrant advocates call those moves cruel and unnecessary.—
Joel Rose,
NPR,
8 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Even better, these expert tips should make easing into healthier phone habits much more manageable (and way less torturous).—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
19 Jan. 2025
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Fans rushed the floor after OSU secured the upset, a joyous celebration on a campus that’s been through the college realignment wringer, a torturous process that ultimately killed the Beavers’ conference.—
Lindsay Schnell,
The Athletic,
16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Among the caterpillars Walker has studied are puss, or asp, caterpillars, whose stings can be excruciating.—
Ivan Amato,
Scientific American,
30 Jan. 2025
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Like the compulsive twisting of a pencil into a sharpener, Khatami tightens the narrative rope to excruciating effect with a series of ominous foreshadowings.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
25 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The most concrete result of therapy has been Milena’s acknowledgment that childbirth was an agonizing experience; her slow-burning resentment of the ungrateful twins has been building ever since.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
13 Feb. 2025
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The organizers said that choice can save event volunteers an agonizing wait at U.S. Customs.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
13 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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This summer saw a bitter dispute between the U.S. and China over allegations surrounding doping by Chinese swimmers before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and suggestions from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that WADA had not been strong enough in enforcing its rules.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
The Athletic,
15 Feb. 2025
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Their whirlwind political alliance, however, quickly frayed and deteriorated into a bitter feud in an Asian democracy that has long been hamstrung by clashing political clans.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
13 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near painful
Cite this Entry
“Painful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painful. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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