Painful
/ˈpeɪnfəl/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjectiveCausing physical pain or emotional suffering.
Extra definitions
adjectiveCausing emotional distress.
adjectiveDifficult or unpleasant to experience.
adjectiveCausing pain or distress, either physical or mental.
Sentence Examples
The injury made walking painful.
It was painful to hear the news.
The negotiations were painful.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
None
Antonyms:
None
Word Origin & History
From Middle English paynful, peinful, peynful, paynefull, peynefull, equivalent to pain + -ful. Compare Danish pinefuld (“painful”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
“In a 2008 case report from India, doctors described removing a giant tonsillolith that was making it painful for a young patient to swallow.”
— 2009 September 1, Elizabeth Svoboda, “In Tonsils, a Problem the Size of a Pea”, in The New York Times:
“A rackingly painful disease that affects the joints and finally cripples, it is caused by an imbalance of uric acid in the system.”
— 2014, Charles L. Mee, Jr, Lorenzo de Medici:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The injury made walking ____.