The meaning of painful is feeling or giving pain [from 14th c.] synonyms, antonyms quotations How to use painful in a sentence.
Causing emotional or physical pain Painful (comparative painfuller or more painful, superlative painfullest or most painful) causing pain or distress, either physical or mental If something is painful to watch or listen to, it is so…
Full of or giving pain If something such as an illness, injury, or operation is painful, it causes you a lot of physical pain.a painful back injury Sunburn is painful and potentially dangerous. Affected with, causing, or characterized by pain.
See examples of painful used in a sentence. Definition of painful adjective in oxford advanced learner's dictionary Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. Wordreference random house unabridged dictionary of american english © 2025 pain•ful (pān′ fəl), adj
Anything painful hurts a lot — either physically or emotionally Your sprained ankle may be painful, but so is your broken heart When something is physically painful, it hurts your body in some way, like a painful burn or a painful paper cut. Find 525 different ways to say painful, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at thesaurus.com.
