# painful

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈpeɪn.fl̩/ · frequency rank #4,179

## Definitions
1. Causing pain or distress, either physical or mental.
2. Afflicted or suffering with pain (of a body part or, formerly, of a person).
3. Requiring effort or labor; difficult, laborious.
4. Painstaking; careful; industrious.
5. Very bad, poor.

## Etymology
From Middle English paynful, peinful, peynful, paynefull, peynefull, equivalent to pain + -ful. Compare Danish pinefuld (“painful”).

## Easily confused with
- **painfully** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/painful-vs-painfully)

## Common misspellings (10)
`apinful`, `paifnul`, `painfful`, `painflu`, `painfull`, `painnful`, `painufl`, `paniful`, `pianful`, `ppainful`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/painful