ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Painful

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ˈpeɪn.fl̩/ · Part of speech adjective

Quick meaning: Painful is an adjective meaning Causing pain or distress, either physical or mental.

Meaning

Causing pain or distress, either physical or mental.

More Meanings

  1. Afflicted or suffering with pain (of a body part or, formerly, of a person).
  2. Requiring effort or labor; difficult, laborious.
  3. (informal) Very bad, poor.
  4. (archaic) Painstaking; careful; industrious.

Example Sentences

His violin playing is painful.
For twenty generations, here was the earthly arena where painful living men worked out their life-wrestle
To all these painful labourers Johnson shewed a never-ceasing kindness, so far as they stood in need of it.
A rackingly painful disease that affects the joints and finally cripples, it is caused by an imbalance of uric acid in the system.

Word Forms

Synonyms for painful

Depending on context, synonyms include achesome, aching, achy, raw, hurt, hurty.

Antonyms for painful

Common opposites include acheless, agreeable, pain-free, painless, pleasant, painfree.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include agonizing, aching, excruciating, sore, harrowing, torturing.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.