damaging

adjective

dam·​ag·​ing ˈda-mi-jiŋ How to pronounce damaging (audio)
: causing or able to cause damage : injurious
has a damaging effect on wildlife
damagingly adverb

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 entire risk area will see multiple squall lines with damaging winds carrying on past midnight, until storms eventually outrun the fuel that gave rise to them. Naomi Schanen, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024 The main concern will be large hail and damaging winds, the brief stated, but the possibility of tornadoes cannot be ruled out. Remington Miller, arkansasonline.com, 12 Mar. 2024 Storm alerts from the National Weather Service Fort Worth office in the past two days have warned of up to quarter-sized hail and damaging winds for the area. Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Mar. 2024 And in terms of climate change, its other effects, from extreme weather to food insecurity, will be more immediate and damaging, per the publication. Tara Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Mar. 2024 The Biden administration recently proposed a rule that would allow the government to fine airlines for damaging or misplacing wheelchairs. Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2024 Severe weather brought wind gusts of over 60 mph to the western U.S., knocking down trees, damaging infrastructure and causing power outages. Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 2024 Most of us know instinctively what sort of gossip is damaging, and what sort of gossip is a bit of fun. Daisy Jones, Vogue, 4 Mar. 2024 The New York Times speculated Thursday that Trump’s August trial date request in the documents case could be a ploy to ensure the federal election case—which polling suggests could prove damaging to Trump with voters if he’s convicted—won’t go to trial until after November. Alison Durkee, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'damaging.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1828, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of damaging was circa 1828

Dictionary Entries Near damaging

Cite this Entry

“Damaging.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/damaging. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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