damaging

adjective

dam·​ag·​ing ˈda-mi-jiŋ 

: causing or able to cause damage : injurious

has a damaging effect on wildlife

damagingly

ˈda-mi-jiŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms of damaging

• harmful
• detrimental
• dangerous
• adverse

Examples of damaging in a Sentence

the damaging effects of the sun on your skin

The storm may produce damaging winds.

He says he has damaging information about the candidate.

The evidence was very damaging to their case.

Recent Examples on the Web

The order pauses what threatened to be a damaging political spectacle over the theft of $580,000 in cash from Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala private game farm. — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 24 July 2026

Severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, large hail and damaging straight-line winds depend on small-scale atmospheric processes that global climate models still struggle to represent accurately. — Deepti Singh, The Conversation, 24 July 2026

Following Dallas was Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), which records about five accidents per 1 million flights and less than one snow day per year with just 2 percent of wildlife strikes considered damaging. — Kristine Hansen, Travel + Leisure, 23 July 2026

Not everyone came away without any reservations, though the caveats were still incredibly affectionate rather than damaging. — Clayton Davis, Variety, 23 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1828, in the meaning defined above