PAINFUL: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for PAINFUL?

Need another word that means the same as “painful”? Find 32 synonyms and 30 related words for “painful” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Painful” are: irritating, afflictive, sore, abominable, atrocious, awful, dreadful, terrible, unspeakable, hurting, hurt, tender, aching, throbbing, smarting, burning, agonizing, excruciating, distressing, unpleasant, nasty, bitter, disquieting, disturbing, upsetting, traumatic, miserable, wretched, sad, heartbreaking, harrowing, mortifying

Painful as an Adjective

Definitions of "Painful" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “painful” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• (of a part of the body) affected with pain.
• Causing distress or trouble.
• Exceptionally bad or displeasing.
• Causing physical pain.
• Very bad.
• Causing misery or pain or distress.
• Causing physical or psychological pain.
• Causing physical discomfort.

Synonyms of "Painful" as an adjective (32 Words)

abominable	Unequivocally detestable. The uprising was suppressed with abominable cruelty.
aching	Causing a dull and steady pain. The cool air was a relief to my aching head.
afflictive	Causing pain or suffering. I was under assault by afflictive emotions anger fear panic.
agonizing	Extremely painful. There is an agonizing choice to make.
atrocious	Exceptionally bad or displeasing. Atrocious weather.
awful	(of a person) very unwell or troubled. I ve made an awful fool of myself.
bitter	(of wind or weather) intensely cold. Today s decision has come as a bitter blow.
burning	Very keenly or deeply felt; intense. The burning question of independence.
disquieting	Inducing feelings of anxiety or worry. The disquieting sounds of nearby gunfire.
distressing	Bad; unfortunate. Distressing or disturbing news.
disturbing	Causing distress or worry or anxiety. Distressing or disturbing news.
dreadful	Causing or involving great suffering, fear, or unhappiness; extremely bad or serious. She looked quite dreadful and she was struggling for breath.
excruciating	Extremely painful. Excruciating back pain.
harrowing	Acutely distressing. It was a harrowing experience.
heartbreaking	Causing or marked by grief or anguish. Her sigh was heartbreaking.
hurt	Suffering from physical injury especially that suffered in battle. Ambulances for the hurt men and women.
hurting	Suffering from physical injury especially that suffered in battle.
irritating	Serving to stimulate or excite. The substance may be irritating to eyes and skin.
miserable	Of the most contemptible kind. You miserable skunk.
mortifying	Causing to feel shame or chagrin or vexation. How mortifying to find that he was right.
nasty	Damaging or harmful. Life has a nasty habit of repeating itself.
sad	Of things that make you feel sad. I was sad and subdued.
smarting	Capable of independent and apparently intelligent action. Susan rubbed her smarting eyes.
sore	Roused to anger- Mark Twain. She had a sore throat.
tender	Given to sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality. The pale tender skin of her forearm.
terrible	Causing or likely to cause terror; sinister. A terrible crime.
throbbing	Causing pain in a series of regular beats. A throbbing vein.
traumatic	Psychologically painful. She was going through a traumatic divorce.
unpleasant	(of a person or their manner) unfriendly and inconsiderate; rude. An unpleasant personality.
unspeakable	Not able to be expressed in words. I felt an unspeakable tenderness towards her.
upsetting	Causing an emotional disturbance- Herb Caen. An upsetting experience.
wretched	Deserving or inciting pity- Galsworthy. She disliked the wretched man intensely.

Usage Examples of "Painful" as an adjective

• The painful process of growing up.
• A painful performance.
• Their attempts at reggae are painful.
• A painful knock.
• Bites of black flies are more than irritating; they can be very painful.
• A painful experience.
• Her ankle was very painful.
• Worked with painful slowness.

Associations of "Painful" (30 Words)

aching	Having an ache in a part of one’s body. My aching head.
agonizing	Causing great physical or mental pain. An agonizing death.
biting	Capable of wounding. His biting satire on corruption and power.
bitter	Alcohol flavoured with bitter plant extracts used as an additive in cocktails or as a medicinal substance to promote appetite or digestion. The bitter truth.
bitterly	To an extreme, forceful, or particularly harsh degree. Its humour is cutting and bitterly sarcastic.
callus	Form a callus or calluses. The long march had callused his feet.
distressing	Causing distress or worry or anxiety. Some very distressing news.
doleful	Expressing sorrow; mournful. A doleful look.
dolorous	Feeling or expressing great sorrow or distress. A dolorous and repetitive tale of atrocity.
elegy	(in modern literature) a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.
excruciating	Intensely painful. He explained the procedure in excruciating detail.
frustrating	Discouraging by hindering. It can be very frustrating to find that the size you want isn t there.
grievous	Of great gravity or crucial import; requiring serious thought. His death was a grievous blow.
harrowing	Extremely painful. It was a harrowing experience.
irksome	Irritating; annoying. An irksome journey.
lamentable	Full of or expressing sorrow or grief. The lamentable friends trailing their long black garments.
lamentation	A book of the Bible telling of the desolation of Judah after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Scenes of lamentation.
mournful	Feeling, expressing, or inducing sadness, regret, or grief. Stared with mournful eyes.
poignant	Keenly distressing to the mind or feelings. Poignant anxiety.
sad	Of things that make you feel sad Christina Rossetti. The show is tongue in cheek anyone who takes it seriously is a bit sad.
sore	An open skin infection. They were sore afraid.
sorrowful	Feeling or showing grief. A sorrowful tale of death and despair.
stressful	Extremely irritating to the nerves. The stressful days before a war.
swollen	Characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance. Growing ever more swollen headed and arbitrary.
tedious	So lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness. Tedious days on the train.
torturous	Characterized by, involving, or causing pain or suffering. A torturous five days of fitness training.
traumatic	Relating to or denoting physical injury. Few experiences are more traumatic than losing a child.
trying	Difficult or annoying; hard to endure. It had been a very trying day.
unhappy	Unfortunate. The unhappy or sad news.
worrisome	Not reassuring; tending to cause anxiety. In a particularly worrisome predicament.