Painful vs Frightful - What's the difference?

Painful is a related term of frightful.

As adjectives the difference between painful and frightful

is that painful is causing pain or distress, either physical or mental while frightful is (obsolete): full of fright; affrighted; frightened.

painful

English

(wikipedia painful)

Alternative forms

* painfull (archaic)

Adjective

(en-adj)

Causing pain or distress, either physical or mental.

Afflicted or suffering with pain (of a body part or, formerly, of a person).

Requiring effort or labor; difficult, laborious.

* 1624 , John Smith, Generall Historie , in Kupperman 1988, p. 142:

The men bestow their times in fishing, hunting, warres, and such manlike exercises, scorning to be seene in any woman-like exercise, which is the cause that the women be very painefull , and the men often idle.

* 1843 , , Book 2, Ch. 2

For twenty generations, here was the earthly arena where painful living men worked out their life-wrestle

Synonyms

* (full of pain) doleful, sorrowful, irksome, annoying * (requiring labor or toil) laborious, exerting

Antonyms

* (causing pain) painless, painfree

Derived terms

* painfully * painfulness

frightful

English

(Webster 1913)

Alternative forms

* frightfull (archaic)

Adjective

(en adjective)

(obsolete): Full of fright; affrighted; frightened.

Full of that which causes fright; exciting alarm; impressing terror; shocking; as, a frightful chasm, or tempest; a frightful appearance.

(Used as an intensifier)

We wasted a frightful amount of money on renovations.

Synonyms

* terrible * dreadful * alarming * fearful * terrific * awful * horrid * horrible * shocking