painful
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painful
- /ˈpeɪn.fl̩/
Rhymes with -eɪnfəl
Where it comes from
From Middle English paynful, peinful, peynful, paynefull, peynefull, equivalent to pain + -ful. Compare Danish pinefuld (“painful”).
adjective painfuller · more painful · painfullest · most painful · painfull
-
Causing pain or distress, either physical or mental.
In a 2008 case report from India, doctors described removing a giant tonsillolith that was making it painful for a young patient to swallow.
Similar: excruciating, torturous, agonizing, ailsome, groanful, hellish, hurtful, bruising, painable, painful, terrible, tormenting · Opposite: painless, painfree
-
Afflicted or suffering with pain (of a body part or, formerly, of a person).
Similar: doleful, sorrowful, smartful, irksome, annoying · Opposite: painless, painfree
- Requiring effort or labor; difficult, laborious.
- Painstaking; careful; industrious. The men bestow their times in fishing, hunting, warres, and such manlike exercises, scorning to be seene in any woman-like exercise, which is the cause that the women be very painefull, and the men often idle.
- Very bad, poor. His violin playing is painful.
Similar: achesome, aching, achy, raw, hurt, hurty, griefful, pained, painfilled, painful, smartful, smarting, sore, suffering, tender, tormented · Opposite: acheless, agreeable, pain-free, painless, pleasant, unaching
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: agonizing, aching, excruciating, sore, harrowing, smarting, torturing, torturous, torturesome, afflictive, achy, traumatic, irritating, bitter, dreadful, terrible
Translations
Every language
adj causing pain
| Español | doloroso |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 아프다 apeuda |
| 日本語 | 痛い itai, 痛みの伴う itami no tomonau |
| 中文 | 痛苦的 tòngkǔ de, 疼痛的 téngtòng de |
| हिन्दी | दुखदायी dukhdāyī, दुखद dukhad, दुखदायक dukhdāyak |
| Português | doloroso, dolorido |
| Français | douloureux |
| Deutsch | schmerzhaft |
| Italiano | doloroso |
| Ελληνικά | επώδυνος epódynos, οδυνηρός odynirós, λυπηρός lypirós |
| Română | dureros |
| Русский | боле́зненный boléznennyj, мучи́тельный mučítelʹnyj, больно́й bolʹnój |
| العربية | أَلِيم ʔalīm, مُؤْلِم muʔlim, مُوجِع mūjiʕ |
Talk about this word "painful." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/painful. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. painful. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/painful "painful." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/painful.Cite this
@misc{painful_2026,
title = {painful},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/painful},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
