adjective
painful
Causing physical pain or emotional distress.
The cut on my finger is painful when I type.
Etymology
Pain developed from a word for punishment to the suffering it causes. Painful applies the ending -ful to something that produces physical suffering or emotional distress.
More examples
- Saying goodbye to her childhood home is painful.
- These shoes give me painful blisters.
- He finds it painful to talk about the divorce.
Forms
painful · more painful · most painful
pain noun — Physical suffering or deep emotional distress.
painfully adverb — In a way that causes pain.
Similar words
- sore
- Usually describes bodily discomfort rather than emotional suffering.
- agonizing
- Indicates severe pain or distress, not merely discomfort.
- distressing
- Emphasizes emotional upset rather than physical pain.