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.
• 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
• No one gets over that kind of trauma and the most painful scars are the ones people don’t see.
  — Joseph Goodman | [e-mail], 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 | [e-mail], 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
• 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
• 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
• On its own, the death of any child is a painful and agonizing time for a parent.
  — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 5 Mar. 2024
• But Minkin points out that replacing an IUD can be painful, too.
  — Korin Miller, Flow Space, 9 Aug. 2024
• So far, the job market has been cooling in the least painful way possible -- with few job cuts.
  — Compiled By Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 2 Sep. 2023
• But like box jellyfish, which are nasty, nasty and are painful stings are starting to show up.
  — Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 1 July 2024
• The most painful aspect of the economy is the jobs situation.
  — Alex Travelli, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
• They are known for their painful sting and their behavior of hunting tarantulas.
  — Tiffany Acosta, The Arizona Republic, 16 Aug. 2024
• This caused a rift between Moon and her siblings that continues, and a questioning about her relationship with her family that is painful to read and to talk about, at least for me.
  — Lily Moayeri, SPIN, 19 Aug. 2024

Last Updated: 17 Sep 2024