2
general::
painful
nouns
a painful memory
• The photograph brought back painful memories.
a painful experience
• It must have been a painful experience for you.
a painful process
• It was just part of the painful process of growing up.
a painful time/period
• The US is in for a painful period of adjustment.
a painful decision
• I made the painful decision to move far away from my family.
a painful reminder
• The violence is a painful reminder that many issues have not yet been resolved.
the painful truth
• We won’t be able to keep the painful truth from the children.
painful feelings/emotions
• Patients are encouraged to talk about their painful feelings.
transnet.ir
3
general::
adj. VERBS be, look, seem | become, get | find sth She found it unbearably painful to speak. ADV. acutely, excruciatingly, extremely, intensely, particularly, terribly, unbearably, very | increasingly | almost | pretty, quite, rather, slightly, somewhat | potentially | emotionally, physically PREP. to The subject of his failed marriage was quite painful to him.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
4
general::
when a part of your body hurts
painful
used for describing a part of the body that hurts:
• Her leg is still painful where she broke it. • painful joints • She was suffering from painful stomach cramps.
tender
painful when touched:
• The skin around the wound is very tender.
stiff
painful and difficult to move:
• I’ve got a stiff neck. • Her body was stiff from sitting in the car for so long.
sore
painful as a result of a wound, infection, or too much exercise:
• sore muscles • a sore throat • The wound was sore and red.
Longman-Thesaurus