German

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Etymology

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From Pein +‎ -lich. Similar to Dutch pijnlijk. Doublet of pingelig.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈpaɪ̯nˌlɪç/
  • Audio:(file)

Adjective

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peinlich (strong nominative masculine singular peinlicher, comparative peinlicher, superlative am peinlichsten)

  1. woeful, hurtful
  2. (archaic) penal, applying criminal law, having to do with jurisprudence competent for capital punishment
  3. (archaic, relational) pertaining to or containing torture
    ein peinliches Verhöra painful interrogation
  4. (now most common meaning) embarrassing, cringeworthy, or otherwise awkward, perverse, adverse, untoward
    Synonyms: blamabel, unangenehm, beschämend
    Es gab eine peinliche Stille.There was an awkward silence.
    Mir unterlief ein peinlicher Fehler.I made an embarrassing mistake.
  5. (obsolete) crotchety, truculent
    Synonyms: schwierig, nervig, ärgerlich, haderlich, streitsüchtig, streitwillig
  6. (usually adverbial) meticulous
    Synonyms: akribisch, penibel, genau, pingelig
    Regeln peinlich genau beachtento meticulously follow the rules

Declension

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Derived terms

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Further reading

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