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Definition of painful - 4 dictionary results

pain⋅ful

  [peyn-fuhl]
Use painful in a Sentence
–adjective
1. affected with, causing, or characterized by pain: a painful wound; a painful night; a painful memory.
2. laborious; exacting; difficult: a painful life.
3. Archaic. painstaking; careful.
Origin:
1300–50; ME; see pain, -ful

Related forms:
pain⋅ful⋅ly, adverb
pain⋅ful⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. distressing, torturing, agonizing, tormenting, excruciating. 2. arduous.

Antonyms:
2. easy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pain·ful   (pān'fəl)   
adj.  
  1. Causing pain.
  2. Full of pain.
  3. Requiring care and labor; irksome: a painful task.
  4. Archaic Diligent; careful.
pain'ful·ly adv., pain'ful·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Painful

Pain"ful\, a. 1. Full of pain; causing uneasiness or distress, either physical or mental; afflictive; disquieting; distressing. --Addison.

2. Requiring labor or toil; difficult; executed with laborious effort; as a painful service; a painful march.

3. Painstaking; careful; industrious. [Obs.] --Fuller.

A very painful person, and a great clerk. --Jer. Taylor.

Nor must the painful husbandman be tired. --Dryden.

Syn: Disquieting; troublesome; afflictive; distressing; grievous; laborious; toilsome; difficult; arduous. -- Pain"ful*ly, adv. -- Pain"ful*ness, n.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : painful
Spanish: doloroso,
German: schmerzhaft,
Japanese: 痛い
More Translations »

Main Entry: pain·ful
Pronunciation: 'pAn-f&l
Function: adjective
Inflected Form: pain·ful·ler /-f&-l&r/;pain·ful·lest
: feeling or giving pain —pain·ful·ly /-f(&-)lE/ adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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