painful

English Online Dictionary. What means painful‎? What does painful mean?

English

Alternative forms

• painfull (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English paynful, peinful, peynful, paynefull, peynefull, equivalent to pain +‎ -ful. Compare Danish pinefuld (“painful”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpeɪn.fəl/
• Rhymes: -eɪnfəl

Adjective

painful (comparative painfuller or more painful, superlative painfullest or most painful)

1. Causing pain or distress, either physical or mental. [from 14th c.]
2. Afflicted or suffering with pain (of a body part or, formerly, of a person). [from 15th c.]
3. Requiring effort or labor; difficult, laborious. [from 15th c.]
4. (archaic) Painstaking; careful; industrious. [from 16th c.]
5. (informal) Very bad, poor.

Synonyms

• (full of pain): doleful, sorrowful, smartful, irksome, annoying
• (requiring labor or toil): laborious, exerting

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “causing pain”): painless, painfree

Derived terms

Translations