painful meaning
painful :
causing hurt, causing discomfort
Adjective
▪ The injury was very painful.
▪ The injury caused a lot of hurt.
▪ It was a painful experience.
▪ It was an experience that caused discomfort.
paraphrasing
▪ hurtful – causing hurt
▪ distressing – causing worry or pain
▪ agonizing – causing extreme pain
▪ uncomfortable – causing discomfort
Pronunciation
painful [ˈpeɪn.fəl]
The stress is on 'pain' and sounds like 'peyn-ful'.
Common phrases and grammar about painful
painful - Common meaning
Adjective
causing hurt, causing discomfort
Part of Speech Changes for "painful"
▪ pain (noun) – hurt or discomfort
▪ painlessly (adverb) – without pain
Common Expressions with "painful"
▪ painful memory – a memory that causes hurt
▪ painful decision – a decision that causes discomfort
▪ painful experience – an experience that causes hurt
▪ painful process – a process that causes discomfort
Important examples of painful in TOEIC
Vocabulary examples from the TOEIC test
In TOEIC vocabulary questions, painful often describes experiences or situations that cause discomfort.
Example of a confusing word: painless (without discomfort)
Grammar examples from the TOEIC test
Painful is used as an adjective and often modifies nouns like experience, memory, or decision in TOEIC questions.
painful
Idioms and fixed expressions in TOEIC
painful reminder
'a reminder that causes discomfort', used when something brings back hurtful memories.
painful truth
means 'a truth that is hard to accept', used when a fact is difficult to deal with.
Differences between similar words and painful
painful
,
hurtful
differences
Painful often refers to physical or emotional discomfort, while hurtful is more about emotional harm.
Words with the same origin as painful
The origin of painful
The word's etymology is not clear.
Word structure
The analysis of the word's composition is unclear.
Words with the same origin
The word's root is unclear or difficult to confirm.
