painfully

adverb

as in bitterly
with feelings of bitterness or grief painfully she recounted the difficult relationship she had with her mother

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of painfully Conversations around racial caricature have evolved; what was edgy feels painfully passé. — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026 Related Stories Those two forces, love and war, coexist painfully in what may be the most ambitious film of this year’s Oscar season. — Daniel D'addario, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026 Even when the metaphor is painfully on the nose, the film’s most disturbing images are more than their dramatic limitations and a whale is still an astonishing place to spend a movie. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 14 Oct. 2026 But energy policy experts say that the new pact is unlikely to make a dent in painfully high prices at the pump or elsewhere. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026 The applicant explained that the issue was painfully personal. — Rabbi Bruce D. Forman, Sun Sentinel, 13 Oct. 2026 Junior running back Elijah Motley is painfully aware of his unfinished business for Shepard. — Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026 Losing most of my coverage made the financial consequences of a cancer diagnosis painfully clear. — Howard Wolinsky, STAT, 7 Oct. 2026 And today people are painfully aware their care is getting more expensive and harder to access. — Kate Wells, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for painfully
  1. bitterly
  2. sadly
  3. sorrowfully
  4. hard
Adverb
  • Nothing comes of it, of course, until months later, when Corinne sees the news that Kiberlain is taking to the Paris stage in a production of the very same play, and bitterly confronts her outside the theater.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Perhaps the actor-director is trying to borrow a page from his bitterly funny David Fincher hit, Gone Girl (another kidnapping thriller, sort of), but Animals has none of that earlier picture’s wit or Grand Guignol extremes or gonzo structure.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of bitterly
Adverb
  • Give me Miller Park (American Family Field nowadays, sadly) in the World Series all day long.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Sure, there will likely be, sadly but understandably, no new Gaga album or tour in the immediate future—but that doesn’t mean her personal style is going anywhere.
    — Christian Allaire, Vogue, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of sadly
Adverb
  • Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.
    — Madhuri Vijay, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025
Definition of sorrowfully
Adverb
  • And even DeVonta Smith, who made his return from injury Sunday, landed hard in the fourth quarter and appeared to be shaken up.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The Capricorn Moon squares the Sun in your sign, making private responsibilities or family dynamics harder to tune out.
    — Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of hard

Browse Nearby Words

painful
painfully
paining
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Cite this Entry

“Painfully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painfully. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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