Synonyms for painful
- adjective
Most common
excruciating unpleasant agonizing torturous annoying distressing sore
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Excruciating — causing pain or distress, either physical or mental
excruciating, unpleasant, agonizing, agonising UK, torturous, grievous, terrible, tormenting, hard, awful, hurtful, harrowing, dreadful, unspeakable, atrocious, torturing, abominable
2. Annoying — afflicted or suffering with pain (of a body part or, formerly, of a person)
annoying, distressing, bitter, sorrowful, severe, troublesome, arduous, irritating, poignant, irksome, trying, biting, vexatious, doleful, dolorous, toilsome, smartful dated
Other
laborious, uncomfortable, hurting, disquieting, racking, distressful, algetic rare
Definitions
- adj. 1
Causing pain or distress, either physical or mental.
- adj. 2
Afflicted or suffering with pain (of a body part or, formerly, of a person).
- adj. 3
Requiring effort or labor; difficult, laborious.
Related words
- Word family
- painfully painfulness
From weakest to strongest
From the opposite of painful, on the left, to its strongest synonyms, on the right.
Example sentences
- unpleasant He spoke about the unpleasant story for two hours.
- excruciating You discovered my biggest weakness: excruciating pain.
- agonizing We found her still alive, she was agonizing.
- annoying When one is sick, visitors can be rather annoying.
- distressing Yanni went through a distressing event.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| painful | rising | |
| unpleasant | rising | |
| excruciating | rising | |
| agonizing | rising | |
| torturous | rising | |
| annoying | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- raw1
- 4 letters
- hard1, sore1, achy2
- 5 letters
- awful2, sharp1
- 6 letters
- trying2, severe2, bitter2, tender2, biting2, aching2
- 7 letters
- hurting2, hurtful2, arduous3, racking2, irksome2, doleful2, algetic
- 8 letters
- terrible3, annoying3, dreadful2, poignant2, grievous2, smarting2, dolorous, toilsome, smartful
- 9 letters
- sensitive3, torturing3, harrowing3, atrocious3, agonizing4, laborious4, sorrowful3, torturous3, agonising, vexatious3
- 10 letters
- unpleasant3, irritating4, abominable5, tormenting3, afflictive
- 11 letters
- troublesome3, distressing3, unspeakable4, disquieting4, distressful
- 12 letters
- excruciating5
- 13 letters
- uncomfortable5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (achy2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- douloureux
- Deutsch
- schmerzvoll
- Català
- dolorós