What does painful mean?

Definitions for painful
ˈpeɪn fəlpainful

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word painful.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. painfuladjective

    causing physical or psychological pain

    "worked with painful slowness"

  2. afflictive, painful, soreadjective

    causing misery or pain or distress

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

  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"

  4. irritating, painfuladjective

    causing physical discomfort

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

Wiktionary

  1. painfuladjective

    Causing pain or distress, either physical or mental.

  2. painfuladjective

    Afflicted or suffering with pain (of a body part or, formerly, of a person).

  3. painfuladjective

    Requiring effort or labor; difficult, laborious.

  4. painfuladjective

    Painstaking; careful; industrious.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Painfuladjective

    Etymology: pain and full.

    Is there yet no other way, besides
    These painful passages, how we may come
    To death. John Milton, Par. Lost, b. xi.

    Evils have been more painful to us in the prospect, than by their actual pressure. Joseph Addison, Spectator.

    I am sick of this bad world!
    The day light and the sun grow painful to me. Addison.

    Long abstinence may be painful to acid constitutions, by the uneasy sensation it creates in the stomach. Arbuthnot.

    The painful service,
    The extreme dangers, and the drops of blood
    Shed for my thankless country, are requited
    But with that surname. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

    When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me. Psalm lxxiii. 16.

    Surat he took, and thence preventing fame,
    By quick and painful marches hither came. Dryden.

    Ev’n I, tho’ slow to touch the painful string,
    Awake from slumber, and attempt to sing. Smith.

    To dress the vines new labour is requir’d,
    Nor must the painful husbandman be tir’d. Dryden.

    Great abilities when employed as God directs, do but make the owners of them greater and more painful servants to their neighbours: however, they are real blessings when in the hands of good men. Jonathan Swift.

Wikipedia

  1. painful

    Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage." In medical diagnosis, pain is regarded as a symptom of an underlying condition. Pain motivates the individual to withdraw from damaging situations, to protect a damaged body part while it heals, and to avoid similar experiences in the future. Most pain resolves once the noxious stimulus is removed and the body has healed, but it may persist despite removal of the stimulus and apparent healing of the body. Sometimes pain arises in the absence of any detectable stimulus, damage or disease.Pain is the most common reason for physician consultation in most developed countries. It is a major symptom in many medical conditions, and can interfere with a person's quality of life and general functioning. Simple pain medications are useful in 20% to 70% of cases. Psychological factors such as social support, cognitive behavioral therapy, excitement, or distraction can affect pain's intensity or unpleasantness.In some debates regarding physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia, pain has been used as an argument to permit people who are terminally ill to end their lives.

ChatGPT

  1. painful

    Painful refers to causing physical discomfort, distress or suffering, often due to an injury or illness. It can also refer to causing emotional or mental distress, upset, or unhappiness, often tied to a distressing or traumatic event.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Painfuladjective

    full of pain; causing uneasiness or distress, either physical or mental; afflictive; disquieting; distressing

  2. Painfuladjective

    requiring labor or toil; difficult; executed with laborious effort; as a painful service; a painful march

  3. Painfuladjective

    painstaking; careful; industrious

Wikidata

  1. Painful

    Painful is the sixth studio album released in 1993 by alternative rock band Yo La Tengo. The album marked a creative shift from Yo La Tengo's previous work, blending atmospheric and ambient sounds with their famous noise jams. Painful features a much more melodic-driven Yo La Tengo in its hazy, dream-like songwriting. Two versions of the track "Big Day Coming" are present on the album and display the range of musical stylings Yo La Tengo works with; the first version features a simple organ melody accompanied by a soft bass counterpoint and Kaplan's guitar feedback echoing in the background, while the second version is a much more straightforward, shoegaze style with an accompanying organ solo towards the latter part of the song.

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'painful' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4692

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'painful' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4722

  3. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'painful' in Adjectives Frequency: #623

How to pronounce painful?

How to say painful in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of painful in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of painful in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of painful in a Sentence

  1. David Lindsay:

    A roll-over is probably the least painful and would result in more certainty and less legal and negotiating costs.

  2. Sister Janet:

    We have never had to face a painful situation like this in India.

  3. Jeff Almer:

    My mother died a painful death from salmonella, and the look of horror on her face as she died shall always haunt me, i just hope they ship you all to jail.

  4. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera:

    It deeply pains our government to announce -- because this is painful for Chile -- that we will not hold the APEC summit, which was scheduled to take place in November, or the COP25 summit, scheduled to take place in December.

  5. Steve Mellin:

    There is so much death and loss and devastation in this case, it's hard to know where to begin, the defendant planted a bomb that led to painful eulogies and terrifying memories. Surviving family members were left to attend to funerals and live lives with bittersweet memories of those lost forever and painful reminders of what could have been.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

painful#1#9372#10000

Translations for painful

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for painful »

Translation

Find a translation for the painful definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"painful." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/painful>.

Discuss these painful definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for painful? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    painful

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    emerged from an egg
    A frantic
    B abrupt
    C occasional
    D hatched

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for painful: