a. | 1. | Full of pain; causing uneasiness or distress, either physical or mental; afflictive; disquieting; distressing. |
2. | Requiring labor or toil; difficult; executed with laborious effort; | |
3. | Painstaking; careful; industrious. |
Adj. | 1. | painful - causing physical or psychological pain; "worked with painful slowness" Antonyms: painless - not causing physical or psychological pain; "painless dentistry" |
2. | painful - causing misery or pain or distress; "it was a sore trial to him"; "the painful process of growing up" Synonyms: afflictive, sore | |
3. | painful - exceptionally bad or displeasing; "atrocious taste"; "abominable workmanship"; "an awful voice"; "dreadful manners"; "a painful performance"; "terrible handwriting"; "an unspeakable odor came sweeping into the room" | |
4. | painful - causing physical discomfort; "bites of black flies are more than irritating; they can be very painful" Synonyms: irritating |