PAINFUL Synonyms: 90 Similar and Opposite Words

painful

adjective

ˈpān-fəl

Definition of painful

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

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of painful Douglas, 82, has just published an incredibly dishy, wildly entertaining, at times both hilarious and painful new memoir, One Helluva Ride. — Sean Woods, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026 Royal expert Hilary Fordwich told RadarOnline that a project about Diana could bring up painful memories of Charles’ affair with Queen Camilla. — Stylecaster Editors, StyleCaster, 7 Oct. 2026 Ashley Duong decided to make a film in response to his memoir to help further uncover painful memories that her father had kept from her and his family until they were revealed in his book. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026 The financial troubles are especially concerning because the Los Angeles Unified School District has failed to meet past budget reduction targets, the report concluded, and the stakes have become higher, with solutions more painful to carry out. — Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for painful

Recent Examples of Synonyms for painful

Adjective

Harvard Health Publishing notes that sloppy technique can strain the neck and leave you stiff and sore, which happen to be some of the same symptoms people blame on tech neck.

— Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 8 Oct. 2026
My arm is sore from holding my phone at arm’s length for 10 minutes during the media scrum after the show.

— Vogue, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of sore

Adjective

The homestretch of the drama, however, takes the story in a chilling direction, packing an aching quantity of feeling into a single glance at a security camera as someone climbs into a car and leaves the compound, never to be heard from again.

— Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 26 May 2026
Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain (1997) Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain is an aching, tender slow burn shaped by absence.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026

Definition of aching

Adjective

The policy of sending them to a third country has been condemned as harsh and cruel.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Eight men were killed via gassing until an Alabama district judge ruled the execution method unconstitutionally cruel, in June; the Supreme Court has maintained the block.

— Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of cruel

Adjective

The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Alberto Sierra’s estranged wife and her two young daughters detailed on Friday their torturous final moments, testifying during Sierra’s death penalty trial.

— Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026
In a wartorn country where air travel is too perilous to even consider, the roads are the obvious option, but are jammed, precarious, and cursed with long, torturous border queues.

— Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of torturous

Adjective

Sigurd’s departure only deepens this cynicism, which Livia clings to for 27 years — until the pair reconnect on the phone for a truly excruciating conversation.

— Sam Worley, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
However committed Robinson was to staying, the emotional experience was excruciating.

— Eyal Press, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of excruciating

Adjective

Pentobarbital that leaks from the vessels causes agonizing pain.

— Dr. Jacob Appel, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026
Hersh was held hostage for 328 sickening, agonizing, and starving days until his captors executed him with five other young and luminous people in a tunnel underneath Gaza.

— Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Time, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of agonizing

Adjective

When Hanne, a staff member of a struggling animal rescue, unexpectedly becomes executor of a wealthy hunting family’s estate, a bitter battle over the inheritance erupts.

— Annika Pham, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026
This bitter rivalry, which dates back to the 1960s, will see its second 2026 installment at Arrowhead Stadium in January.

— Pete Sweeney October 5, Kansas City Star, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of bitter

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“Painful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painful. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of painful

adjective

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