The meaning of PAINFUL is feeling or giving pain. How to use painful in a sentence.

PAINFUL definition: 1. causing emotional or physical pain: 2. If something is painful to watch or listen to, it is so…. Learn more.

Define painful. painful synonyms, painful pronunciation, painful translation, English dictionary definition of painful. adj. 1. Full of or giving pain: a painful shoulder; painful walking.

If something such as an illness, injury, or operation is painful, it causes you a lot of physical pain. ...a painful back injury. Sunburn is painful and potentially dangerous.

Painful definition: affected with, causing, or characterized by pain.. See examples of PAINFUL used in a sentence.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025 pain•ful (pān′ fəl), adj. affected with, causing, or characterized by pain: a painful wound; a painful night; a painful …

Definition of painful adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

Synonyms for PAINFUL: sore, aching, hurting, damaging, hurtful, injurious, swollen, nasty; Antonyms of PAINFUL: painless, helping, remedial, healing, indolent, curative, sweet, gratifying

Master the word "PAINFUL" in English: definitions, translations, synonyms, pronunciations, examples, and grammar insights - all in one complete resource.

These are words and phrases related to painful. Click on any word or phrase to go to its thesaurus page. Or, go to the definition of painful. The child has a painful earache.