Meaning & use
Painfully
Last updated
In a way that causes physical or emotional pain, or used as an intensifier to mean 'extremely' or 'to an uncomfortable degree.'
See it in a sentence
She twisted her ankle painfully on the uneven pavement.
The silence in the room was painfully awkward after his comment.
A note on using this word
Frequently paired with adjectives like 'obvious' or 'shy' to intensify meaning, well beyond its literal sense of physical pain.
Words with a similar meaning
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