painful
painful — adjective
1. making your body hurt, or causing strong emotional hurt, sadness, or shame.
making your body hurt, or causing strong emotional hurt, sadness, or shame.
The cut on Nina's heel was painful inside her new shoes.
painful + injury/body part
The bruise on Ava's ribs stayed painful for three days.
pattern: be painful for + time
Losing the family dog was painful for Emma and her brother.
Reading her old text messages was painful after the breakup.
The dentist warned that the shot might be painful for a second.
- sore
usually describes a hurting body part rather than an event or memory
- hurtful
mainly used for words or actions that wound feelings
- distressing
more formal and focuses on emotional upset
- agonizing
much stronger and suggests extreme pain
- painless
describes something that does not hurt
- comforting
describes something that makes feelings easier rather than worse
文法句型
a painful cut/injury
a painful memory/loss
be painful
用法筆記
Often describes body parts, injuries, memories, and losses. Distinguish from sense 3, which usually describes an action or situation that is hard to do rather than something that directly causes pain.
常見錯誤
2. so bad to watch or hear that other people feel awkward or embarrassed.
so bad to watch or hear that other people feel awkward or embarrassed.
The interview was painful to watch after Ben forgot every answer.
pattern: painful to watch
That fake laugh was painful to listen to during dinner.
pattern: painful to listen to
Watching Eric flirt on stage was painful for the whole class.
Her speech was painful to hear because every joke fell flat.
The talent show became painful when two judges started shouting.
- embarrassing
broader and can describe either your own mistake or something you watch
- awkward
weaker and often describes a social situation rather than bad quality
- cringeworthy
informal and strongly suggests second-hand embarrassment
文法句型
painful to watch
painful to listen to
painful to hear
用法筆記
Most often appears in patterns like painful to watch, painful to listen to, and painful to hear. It usually describes a bad performance, speech, or social moment that causes second-hand embarrassment, not actual injury.
常見錯誤
3. hard to do or accept because it feels awkward, upsetting, or takes a lot of effo
hard to do or accept because it feels awkward, upsetting, or takes a lot of effort.
For Maya, admitting the mistake was painful in front of clients.
Sorting her father's clothes felt painful after the funeral.
The visa form was painful to finish without a local address.
Writing the apology email was painful, but Nora finally pressed send.
The meeting became painful once the budget cuts were discussed.
- difficult
the most general word and does not always suggest emotional strain
- awkward
often stresses social discomfort more than effort
- unpleasant
broader and weaker than painful
- exhausting
focuses more on draining effort than on discomfort or embarrassment
- easy
not hard to do
- straightforward
simple and not emotionally difficult
文法句型
painful to admit
painful to finish
a painful decision/process
用法筆記
Common before a to-infinitive or with tasks such as admit, discuss, decide, and finish. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense focuses on the difficulty of the action or situation, not direct physical or emotional pain from a person or thing.