damning

1 of 2

adjective

damn·​ing ˈda-miŋ 

1

: bringing damnation

a damning sin

2

: causing or leading to condemnation or ruin

presented some damning testimony

damningly

ˈda-miŋ-lē 

adverb

damning

2 of 2

present participle of damn entry 1

Synonyms of damning

Adjective

• disastrous
• unfortunate
• fatal
• catastrophic

Examples of damning in a Sentence

Adjective

a damning flaw in the program cost the company millions of dollars

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

But Gibney’s distillation of this story into a single viewing experience creates a damning portrait of an emotionally unstable individual with the levers of power in his hand and no evident moral compass. — Sheelah Kolhatkar, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2026

And Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial, a damning look at OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman isn’t coming out until December but has been making headlines since its world premiere at the New York Film Festival this week. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2026

Even more damning, though, is Colloff’s exposure of a criminal justice system that is all too happy to look the other way in cutting deals that can have devastating consequences. — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026

Garfield is disturbingly riveting as Altman, with his hypnotizing performance painting the most damning picture of the OpenAI CEO yet in any form of media. — Hayden Field, The Verge, 8 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1595, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing damning

• self-damning

Rhymes for damning

• amang
• cramming
• damming
• hamming
• jamming
• lambing
• ramming
• slamming
• diagramming
• reprograming
• reprogramming
• multiprogramming