schmerzhaft

German

Etymology

Schmerz +‎ -haft

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃmɛʁt͡shaft/

• audio:

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Adjective

schmerzhaft (comparative schmerzhafter, superlative am schmerzhaftesten)

1. painful (causing physical or emotional pain)

   Der Rohrstock war im Fürsorgeheim als besonders schmerzhaftes Erziehungsinstrument für empfindliche Vergehen vorgesehen.

   The cane was intended to be used in the protectory as a particularly painful educational tool in case of grave misdeeds.

Usage notes

• The adjective is rarely used of body parts, particularly not in predicative position. The phrase mein Bein ist schmerzhaft (“my leg is painful”) would be grammatically doubtful and, at any rate, unusual. One says: mein Bein tut weh or mein Bein schmerzt (“my leg hurts”). In attributive position, it is somewhat more current: ein schmerzhaftes Bein (“a painful leg”), though schmerzend may be preferable.

Antonyms

• schmerzlos

Further reading

• “schmerzhaft” in Duden online