Synonyms for painful
ˈpeɪn fəlpainful

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. painfuladjective

   Causing pain or distress, either physical or mental.

   Antonyms:
   painfree, painless

2. painfuladjective

   Synonyms:
   doleful, irksome, sorrowful, annoying

3. painfuladjective

   Synonyms:
   laborious, exerting

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. painful

   Synonyms:
   depressing, disappointing, distressing, hateful, horrible, melancholy, miserable, mournful, saddening, woful, wretched

   Antonyms:
   acceptable, agreeable, congenial, delicious, delightful, grateful, gratifying, pleasant, pleasing, pleasurable, refreshing, satisfying, welcome

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. painful

   Synonyms:
   afflicting, distressful, grieving, grievous, excruciating

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. painfuladjective

   causing physical or psychological pain

   "worked with painful slowness"

   Synonyms:
   irritating, terrible, unspeakable, awful, afflictive, atrocious, abominable, sore, dreadful

   Antonyms:
   unpainful, good, painless, pain-free, comfortable, comfy, pleasant

2. afflictive, painful, soreadjective

   causing misery or pain or distress

   "it was a sore trial to him"; "the painful process of growing up"

   Synonyms:
   mad, irritating, sensitive, huffy, raw, terrible, unspeakable, tender, awful, afflictive, atrocious, abominable, sore, dreadful

   Antonyms:
   comfortable, comfy, pleasant, good, painless, pain-free, unpainful

3. atrocious, abominable, awful, dreadful, painful, terrible, unspeakableadjective

   exceptionally bad or displeasing

   "atrocious taste"; "abominable workmanship"; "an awful voice"; "dreadful manners"; "a painful performance"; "terrible handwriting"; "an unspeakable odor came sweeping into the room"

   Synonyms:
   irritating, dreadful, indescribable, indefinable, awful, sore, odious, unnameable, execrable, horrifying, frightful, amazing, horrendous, severe, tremendous, dreaded, dire, afflictive, flagitious, grievous, monstrous, atrocious, ineffable, detestable, awing, awed, wicked, dread(a), awe-inspiring, unspeakable, horrific, nasty, terrible, horrible, abominable, frightening, unutterable, awesome, fearsome, fearful, direful, untellable, ugly

   Antonyms:
   comfortable, painless, comfy, pain-free, good, pleasant, unpainful

4. irritating, painfuladjective

   causing physical discomfort

   "bites of black flies are more than irritating; they can be very painful"

   Synonyms:
   nettlesome, annoying, afflictive, teasing, plaguy, vexing, vexatious, galling, irritative, abominable, bothersome, awful, unspeakable, plaguey, atrocious, pestiferous, terrible, pesky, dreadful, pestering, sore, irritating

   Antonyms:
   pain-free, painless, comfy, unpainful, comfortable, pleasant, good

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. painfuladjective

   Synonyms:
   tormenting, torturing, agonizing, racking, distressing, distressful, excruciating

2. painfuladjective

   Synonyms:
   grievous, afflicting, afflictive, disquieting, troublesome, displeasing, provoking, annoying, vexatious, unpleasant, disagreeable

3. painfuladjective

   Synonyms:
   toilsome, arduous, difficult, hard, severe

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. painfuladjective

   Synonyms:
   distressing, agonizing, excruciating, dolorous, racking, toilsome, arduous, difficult

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "painful":

   distressing, bitter, agonizing, sore, embarrassing, harrowing, sad, grievous, hurtful, difficult, dire, laborious, painstaking, arduous

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How to use painful in a sentence?

1. Kim Novak:

   I loved acting, which was never about money, the fame. It was about a search for meaning. It was painful.

2. Katie Couric:

   The whole thing has been very painful for me, the accounts I’ve read and heard have been disturbing, distressing and disorienting and it’s completely unacceptable that any woman at the‘Today’show experienced this kind of treatment.

3. Father Stubna:

   These have been very painful and difficult days for all of us in Catholic Church.

4. Sam Calisch:

   Electricity is not only kind of a lower-cost solution here, but is also more immune to these shorter-term volatility events, which, just on the level of a consumer homeowner, that's painful, people are already feeling the effects of inflation. And then this short-term volatility where gas prices are up and natural gas prices are up. It's painful, and it really hurts people's pocketbooks.

5. The Dhammapada:

   Do not speak harshly to any one those who are spoken to will answer thee in the same way. Angry speech is painful blows for blows will touch thee.