/ Dictionary / Index P painful: Meaning and Definition of Find definitions for: pain•ful Pronunciation: (pān'ful), [key] affected with, causing, or characterized by pain: a painful wound; a painful night; a painful memory. laborious; exacting; difficult: a painful life. painstaking; careful. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease. See also: painful (Thesaurus) Painesville painkiller Related Content Daily Word Quiz: panacea Analogy of the Day: Today’s Analogy Spelling Bee: Today’s Spelling Bee Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language