painful
Americanadjective
-
affected with, causing, or characterized by pain.
a painful wound; a painful night; a painful memory.
- Synonyms:
- excruciating, agonizing
-
laborious; exacting; difficult.
a painful life.
- Synonyms:
- arduous
- Antonyms:
- easy
-
Archaic. painstaking; careful.
adjective
-
causing pain; distressing
a painful duty
-
affected with pain
a painful leg
-
tedious or difficult
-
informal extremely bad
a painful performance
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of painful
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at pain, -ful
Explanation
Anything painful hurts a lot — either physically or emotionally. Your sprained ankle may be painful, but so is your broken heart. When something is physically painful, it hurts your body in some way, like a painful burn or a painful paper cut. Other things hurt just as much, but in an emotional way, like a painful separation from your cat when you go to summer camp. You can also use this adjective informally to mean really bad: "The wedding band's attempt at 'Stairway to Heaven' was just painful."
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.
David and Ally had always wanted children but after Ally went through several painful miscarriages, they decided to adopt.
From BBC • Jul. 8, 2026
That’s still painful, but it’s not in the same league.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 8, 2026
Chris Tinen, a customer in St. Louis, Mo., said AI-driven cuts to insurance agents’ compensation were a painful necessity.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 8, 2026
"Ebola may not be the next pandemic. But it is a reminder, a painful one, that the threat never truly goes away," said Tedros.
From Barron's • Jul. 6, 2026
At the last possible second, I lunged and threw my arm out, my fingers sliding between the door and the frame with a painful but utterly satisfying pinch.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
