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Painful vs Heartwrenching - What's the difference?

painful | heartwrenching |

As adjectives the difference between painful and heartwrenching

is that painful is causing pain or distress, either physical or mental while heartwrenching is having a painful emotional impact; causing grief or distress.

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

    heartwrenching

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Having a painful emotional impact; causing grief or distress.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2007, date=September 23, author=, title=In a Tough City, Almost an Adult; An Active Approach to Psychic Change (4 Letters), work=New York Times citation
    • , passage=The interview with Sarah Mohess was both heartwrenching and inspiring. }}

    Derived terms

    * heartwrenchingly