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
- overpainful adjective
- overpainfully adverb
- overpainfulness noun
- painfully adverb
- painfulness noun
- unpainful adjective
- unpainfully adverb
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.
A common feature of nerve-related pain is allodynia, a condition in which even light touch can feel painful.
From Science Daily • Apr. 27, 2026
Mass layoffs, while painful for employees, have previously been greeted by investors as sensible cuts to a bloated workforce.
From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026
Mr. Trump’s tariff escalation comes at a particularly painful time for American companies that consume metals, especially auto makers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
"It's been a traumatic and painful journey. I just think that all women should be able to be heard and be listened to."
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
The men were so tired, and their legs so swollen and painful, that it took hours of staggering up and down the rough beach, into the water and out again.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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.
