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.
“We’ve done a lot of zigzags, some very painful, some hard but joyful,” Bancel said in an interview the day after the results were announced.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
The founder of World Central Kitchen, Jose Andres, described the decision as "wrong" and "painful for all of us", demanding an independent commission to investigate.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Some very painful things were said, primarily by our daughter-in-law, as we made a conscious effort not to respond in kind.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
It’s something that’s completely uncontrollable and it’s really painful and it’s really scary and women need a lot of support.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Kennedy agreed to do it, but his bad back made throwing painful.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
