PAINFULLY

painfully, distressingly

(adverb) unpleasantly; “his ignorance was painfully obvious”

painfully, sorely

(adverb) in or as if in pain; “she moved painfully forward”; “sorely wounded”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Adverb

painfully (comparative more painfully, superlative most painfully)

In a painful manner; as if in pain.

(informal) Badly; poorly.

Usage notes

Some adjectives commonly collocating with painfully: thin, long, slow, boring, close

Source: Wiktionary

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PAINFUL

Pain"ful, a.

1. Full of pain; causing uneasiness or distress, either physical or mental; afflictive; disquieting; distressing Addison.

2. Requiring labor or toil; difficult; executed with laborious effort; as a painful service; a painful march.

3. Painstaking; careful; industrious. [Obs.] Fuller. A very painful person, and a great clerk. Jer. Taylor. Nor must the painful husbandman be tired. Dryden.

Syn.

– Disquieting; troublesome; afflictive; distressing; grievous; laborious; toilsome; difficult; arduous.

– Pain"ful*ly, adv.

– Pain"ful*ness, n.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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