How to Use painful in a Sentence
painful
adjective- It was painful to watch.
- I got a painful sunburn.
- His questions brought up a lot of painful memories.
- We can't ignore our country's painful history of slavery.
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Slide the painful foot back, and plant the heel to the floor.
— Cori Ritchey, Men's Health, 8 Apr. 2023 -
The most painful part, many said, was being in the dark about their fate.
— Miriam Berger, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024 -
Back home, the gloom of a painful work stoppage seemed far away.
— Todd Robinson, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Aug. 2023 -
But this insect leaves one of the most painful bug bites.
— Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 19 Jan. 2023 -
The rash was made up of tiny, reddish-brown spots that were painful.
— Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024 -
But the process is sure to be painful and could even spur a recession.
— Ben Casselman, New York Times, 27 Dec. 2022 -
No one gets over that kind of trauma and the most painful scars are the ones people don’t see.
— Joseph Goodman | Jgoodman@al.com, al, 10 July 2023 -
As with any machine, some changes, more or less painful, had to be made.
— Byadrian Cho, science.org, 4 May 2023 -
Well, there were some moments with the Dragos that were [painful to cut].
— Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 June 2023 -
In a painful stroke of irony, the United States would respond in part with a spell of infamy of its own.
— Cynthia Teniente-Matson, The Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2024 -
Bowman said even twisting the wrong way can be painful.
— Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 28 May 2023 -
Those who did tune in were faced with a spectacle painful to watch.
— Shelby Grad, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2024 -
In the Woman in Me, Spears opens up about the painful experience.
— Daniela Avila, Peoplemag, 19 Oct. 2023 -
The girl’s call for help lasted for more than 21 minutes and is painful to listen to.
— Theresa Vargas, Washington Post, 9 Sep. 2023 -
The rash for chickenpox is very itchy, while the shingles rash is known to be quite painful.
— Carrie Madormo, Rn, Health, 3 Nov. 2024 -
This has been the most painful and difficult challenge of my life.
— Annie Lane, Anchorage Daily News, 11 July 2023 -
The sight of it was so painful for her parents that Sisco could barely walk in.
— Julia Prodis Sulek, The Mercury News, 24 Mar. 2024 -
Some even say that tweezing and waxing are more painful.
— Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 13 Nov. 2023 -
But that often painful process taught me that failure is okay.
— Max Gellert, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024 -
If that’s true, what comes next will be painful and disruptive.
— Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 6 Aug. 2024 -
Others, much more painful: the murder of Deshaun Hill Jr., shot and killed two years ago just blocks from the school.
— Meg Anderson, NPR, 19 Apr. 2024 -
All the while, the clusters got more raw, irritated, and painful.
— Maressa Brown, SELF, 26 Mar. 2024 -
What is painful is that her brother was dressed for the elements.
— Holly Bailey, Washington Post, 28 Dec. 2022 -
Kripke, for his part, said the show’s writers sought to make a point with the painful storyline.
— Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 21 June 2024 -
Cheeks said that having to go back on his promise to buy a house for his aunt, who has since died, was painful.
— Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2024 -
Writing, though painful, is a necessary act of remembrance for him.
— Elizabeth Wells, CNN, 31 Oct. 2024
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'painful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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