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
painfuladjective
causing physical or psychological pain
"worked with painful slowness"
afflictive, painful, soreadjective
causing misery or pain or distress
"it was a sore trial to him"; "the painful process of growing up"
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"
irritating, painfuladjective
causing physical discomfort
"bites of black flies are more than irritating; they can be very painful"
Wiktionary
painfuladjective
Causing pain or distress, either physical or mental.
painfuladjective
Afflicted or suffering with pain (of a body part or, formerly, of a person).
painfuladjective
Requiring effort or labor; difficult, laborious.
painfuladjective
Painstaking; careful; industrious.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
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
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
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
Painfuladjective
full of pain; causing uneasiness or distress, either physical or mental; afflictive; disquieting; distressing
Painfuladjective
requiring labor or toil; difficult; executed with laborious effort; as a painful service; a painful march
Painfuladjective
painstaking; careful; industrious
Wikidata
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
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'painful' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4692
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'painful' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4722
Adjectives Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'painful' in Adjectives Frequency: #623
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of painful in Chaldean Numerology is: 5
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of painful in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7
Examples of painful in a Sentence
The average vagina is just three to four inches deep, so most guys are doing just fine with their average dimensions, in my experience as a sex therapist, when size matters, it's generally because a guy's penis is too large rather than too small, and that can lead to painful sex.
Helpful inner monologue isn't always positive in the sense that sometimes, in working through the bad stuff, we learn from our mistakes, that sometimes involves revisiting painful experiences, extracting some important insight that helps us move on and improve.
One of the most painful things for a startup founder is when you get started the company is small, nobody can see the future yet and [ the ] best talent won't join for that reason. Therefore, we had to hire friends, friends can do a bit of accounting, friends can do a little bit of HR. Here's the dilemma : If the company doesn't go well, friends support each other, everyone was cool. If the company goes well, you know you have to let go.
If Amazon is removing the Confederate flag from its offerings, the logical and principled decision is to stop selling any promotional material, including T-shirts, of Che Guevara or any mass killer, it is very painful particularly to the loved ones of Guevara's victims as well as offensive to the Cuban people who continue to suffer repression and abhorrent human rights' abuses by the system Che Guevara helped create and direct.
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.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for painful
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- مؤلمArabic
- балю́чыBelarusian
- dolorósCatalan, Valencian
- smertefuldDanish
- schmerzhaftGerman
- επίπονος, επώδυνοςGreek
- dolorido, dolorosoSpanish
- kipeä, rasittava, työläs, tuskallinen, kivulias, raskasFinnish
- douloureux, laborieux, pénibleFrench
- fáradságos, nehéz, fájdalmasHungarian
- dolorosoItalian
- 骨の折れる, 困難, 苦しいJapanese
- laboriosusLatin
- tārū, tārūrūMāori
- pijnlijk, ijverig, moeizaam, smartelijk, zorgzaamDutch
- bolesnyPolish
- extenuante, árduoPortuguese
- тяжёлый, тягостный, тяжкий, болезненный, мучительныйRussian
- smärtsamSwedish
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"painful." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 16 Jan. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/painful>.
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