painful

The word “painful” has 2 syllables: pain-ful.

It's pronounced as /ˈpeɪnfʊl/.


What is synonym and antonym for painful?

In the thesaurus, “painful” has 26 synonyms and 24 antonyms.

Here are synonyms and antonyms for painful along with examples of usage in sentences.


Synonyms for painful

  • aching
  • agonizing
  • arduous
  • awful
  • bitter
  • cruel
  • difficult
  • dire
  • distasteful
  • distressing
  • excruciating
  • hard
  • harrowing
  • harsh
  • heart-wrenching
  • horrible
  • hurtful
  • hurting
  • severe
  • sore
  • tedious
  • terrible
  • torturous
  • troublesome
  • uncomfortable
  • unpleasant

Antonyms for painful

  • agreeable
  • bearable
  • calm
  • easy
  • endurable
  • facile
  • friendly
  • good
  • gratifying
  • great
  • healing
  • helpful
  • helping
  • mild
  • nice
  • painless
  • pleasant
  • pleasing
  • remedial
  • simple
  • sustainable
  • sweet
  • tolerable
  • wonderful

Meanings of painful

  • adjective
    1. Causing pain or distress, either physical or mental.
    2. Afflicted or suffering with pain (of a body part or, formerly, of a person).
    3. Requiring effort or labor; difficult, laborious.
    4. Painstaking; careful; industrious.
    5. Very bad, poor.

Example Sentences

  • The athlete experienced a painful injury during the match, requiring medical attention.
  • Watching her struggle with the loss of her pet was a painful experience for everyone.
  • The memories of the accident were still fresh and painful in her mind.
  • The breakup was painful, but it ultimately led to personal growth and self-discovery.
  • The chemotherapy treatment was painful, but necessary to combat the cancer.

On this page you'll find 50 synonyms, antonyms, or another words to painful, such as: aching, agonizing, agreeable, arduous, awful, bearable, bitter.

Make sure to choose synonyms and antonyms that are appropriate for the context of the sentence.

Related Words

bad

  • adverse
  • atrocious
  • awful
  • badly
  • bitter
  • cheap
  • corrupted
  • cruel
  • crummy
  • damaging
  • dangerous
  • dark
  • defective
  • deficient
  • depressed
  • detrimental
  • disastrous
  • disgusting
  • distressing
  • dreadful
  • evil
  • flawed
  • grim
  • harmful
  • harsh
  • hateful
  • heartbroken
  • horrible
  • illegal
  • immoral
  • imperfect
  • inferior
  • intense
  • invalid
  • lame
  • lousy
  • malicious
  • melancholy
  • mischievous
  • miserable
  • nasty
  • naughty
  • null
  • null and void
  • painful
  • poor
  • poorly
  • putrid
  • rotten
  • rough
  • sad
  • serious
  • sick
  • sinful
  • sorry
  • sour
  • spoiled
  • terrible
  • ugly
  • unacceptable
  • unfavorable
  • unfortunate
  • unhappy
  • unhealthy
  • unlawful
  • unpleasant
  • unpleasing
  • upset
  • vicious
  • vile
  • void
  • wicked
  • worried
  • wrong

badly

  • awkwardly
  • bad
  • clumsily
  • damn
  • damned
  • deeply
  • desperately
  • extremely
  • far
  • greatly
  • hard
  • heavily
  • highly
  • incredibly
  • intensely
  • much
  • painfully
  • poorly
  • really
  • seriously
  • severely
  • so
  • terribly
  • too
  • very

galling

  • aggravating
  • annoying
  • bothering
  • bugging
  • cruel
  • disturbing
  • eroding
  • exasperating
  • fraying
  • frustrating
  • harsh
  • irritating
  • painful
  • persecuting
  • rubbing
  • scratching
  • wearing

ill-starred

  • adverse
  • appalling
  • awful
  • calamitous
  • cataclysmic
  • catastrophic
  • damaging
  • deadly
  • deplorable
  • depressed
  • deprived
  • destitute
  • destructive
  • dire
  • disadvantaged
  • disastrous
  • disturbing
  • dreadful
  • fatal
  • fateful
  • grievous
  • grim
  • hapless
  • harmful
  • harrowing
  • heartbreaking
  • ill-fated
  • impoverished
  • inappropriate
  • inauspicious
  • incurable
  • indigent
  • inevitable
  • lamentable
  • luckless
  • malignant
  • miserable
  • mortal
  • needy
  • painful
  • pathetic
  • perverse
  • pitiful
  • poisonous
  • regrettable
  • ruinous
  • sad
  • shocking
  • terrible
  • tragic
  • unfavorable
  • unfortunate
  • unhappy
  • unlucky
  • unmanageable
  • untoward
  • virulent
  • woeful

nasty

  • aching
  • annoying
  • awful
  • bad
  • bitter
  • blackened
  • bleak
  • cheap
  • complicated
  • cruel
  • damaging
  • difficult
  • dirty
  • disgusting
  • distasteful
  • disturbing
  • dreadful
  • dusty
  • evil
  • fierce
  • filthy
  • foul
  • frightening
  • gross
  • harsh
  • hateful
  • hideous
  • horrible
  • hurting
  • icky
  • illegal
  • immoral
  • indecent
  • lame
  • malicious
  • mean
  • muddy
  • murderous
  • naughty
  • noxious
  • obnoxious
  • obscene
  • offensive
  • ornery
  • outrageous
  • painful
  • pitiful
  • pornographic
  • problematic
  • problematical
  • rainy
  • ribald
  • rough
  • ruthless
  • sarcastic
  • scary
  • sensitive
  • serious
  • severe
  • shocking
  • sickening
  • smutty
  • sore
  • sorry
  • sour
  • stained
  • sticky
  • tough
  • troublesome
  • troubling
  • turbulent
  • ugly
  • unfair
  • unkind
  • unpleasant
  • unpleasing
  • unseemly
  • unsettling
  • upsetting
  • vicious
  • vile
  • vulgar
  • wicked
  • wretched

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