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
Eliminating provider fees would blow a hole in state budgets, forcing state legislatures to make a painful choice—either enact steep tax hikes or drastically cut health care for vulnerable residents.
—
Arick Wierson, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025
There’s no doubt that grief is emotionally and physically painful, and shying away from that pain is a common response.
—Kathleen Ferraro, SELF, 15 Apr. 2025
To get back on the wagon was such a painful and difficult process, thinking my love life was completely written off.
—Vanessa Etienne, People.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Hidden inside those numbers is a long and painful history.
—Ryan Lenora Brown, NPR, 13 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for painful
Arick Wierson, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025
There’s no doubt that grief is emotionally and physically painful, and shying away from that pain is a common response.
—Kathleen Ferraro, SELF, 15 Apr. 2025
To get back on the wagon was such a painful and difficult process, thinking my love life was completely written off.
—Vanessa Etienne, People.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Hidden inside those numbers is a long and painful history.
—Ryan Lenora Brown, NPR, 13 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for painful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for painful
Adjective
-
By the time Leif Davis was sent off on the half-hour for a dangerous foul from behind on Saka, who Arteta said was sore but did not suffer any serious damage, the winger had created a game-high three chances.—
Art de Roché,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2025
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However, Rice – out of Sunday’s lineup – was still stiff, sore and swollen.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
20 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Hope reigns even in this harsh political climate we Americans are now experiencing.—
Bea L. Hines,
Miami Herald,
17 Apr. 2025
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Even if investors are slightly more confident this week, after Trump backed off most of his harshest tariff rates, the changes in people’s life-style habits serve as their own kind of affective barometer.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
16 Apr. 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
-
Everybody else has no choice, really, other than to bring a cruel, narcissistic far-right leader to power.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2025
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Jokes that didn’t land with the squad The kids in Bad Influence say the pranks were the most cruel.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
Time,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Before embarking on an NBA career that's already filled with exhilarating highs and torturous lows, Pritchard helped lead the Oregon Ducks to their first Final Four appearance since the inaugural NCAA men's basketball tournament.—
Bobby Krivitsky,
Forbes.com,
16 Apr. 2025
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This is like one of Larry David's torturous self-debates on Curb Your Enthusiasm, but without his perverse genius, his wheedling, preening hostility.—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection The pressure doing the show was excruciating.—
Mark Seliger,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2025
-
After a bout of excruciating indecision, Bachelor Grant Ellis finally made his choice between Litia and Juliana in the season 29 finale.—
Kristen Baldwin,
EW.com,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Their injuries are stomach-turning, their cries agonizing.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
11 Apr. 2025
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Sharp couldn’t touch the ball again without a double-dribble being called and the ball bounced three agonizing times with no one else able to make it to the loose ball to get a shot off.—
Kevin Dotson,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The United States and the Soviet Union were bitter adversaries during the four decade-long Cold War, competing for influence on multiple continents and arming their respective proxies from as far afield as Afghanistan, Angola, and Nicaragua in order to enhance their power at the other's expense.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
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By emphasizing short wars, strategists rely too much on initial battle plans that may not play out in practice—with bitter consequences.—
Lawrence D. Freedman,
Foreign Affairs,
14 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Painful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painful. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
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