| bittersweet |
both pleasurable and painful. [1/5 definitions] |
| boil2 |
a swollen, painful sore that is filled with pus and is caused by a bacterial infection. |
| bursitis |
a painful disorder caused by the inflammation of a bursa, esp. in a joint of the shoulder, elbow, or knee. |
| Calvary |
(sometimes l.c.) a place or occasion of severe trial, or an intensely painful, anguishing experience. [1/2 definitions] |
| carbuncle |
a painful localized abscess of the tissue underneath the skin. [1/2 definitions] |
| charley horse |
a painful cramp in a muscle caused by overexertion or by a blow. |
| cramp1 |
(sometimes pl.) a painful and debilitating contraction or spasm of any muscle of the body. [1/3 definitions] |
| crick |
a painful stiffness or cramp, esp. in the neck or back. [1/2 definitions] |
| decompression sickness |
a painful and sometimes fatal condition caused by the formation of nitrogen bubbles in the blood, resulting from returning to atmospheric pressure too quickly from deep water or a compression chamber; aeroembolism; bends. |
| defense mechanism |
in psychology, an unconscious process that submerges or opposes ideas or actions that would be painful or inappropriate. [1/2 definitions] |
| diverticulitis |
painful inflammation of a sac that branches off from a hollow organ, esp. the intestine. |
| dysmenorrhea |
menstruation that is difficult or painful. |
| dyspareunia |
sexual intercourse that is difficult or painful. |
| earsplitting |
loud and shrill enough to be painful to the ears. |
| ease |
to become less painful, difficult, or anxious. [1/11 definitions] |
| embarrassed |
experiencing, expressing, or marked by feelings of shame, painful self-consciousness, or unease. [1/2 definitions] |
| embarrassing |
causing or accompanied by feelings of shame, painful self-consciousness, or unease. |
| euthanasia |
the act of putting to a painless death a person or animal suffering from a painful, incurable disease or injury; mercy killing. |
| excruciating |
extremely painful or intensely distressing; agonizing. [1/2 definitions] |
| gout |
a painful disorder characterized by the accumulation of uric acid salts in the joints. [1/2 definitions] |
| grievous |
causing emotional or physical suffering; painful. [1/3 definitions] |