injure

verb

in·​jure ˈin-jər 

injured; injuring ˈin-j(ə-)riŋ 

transitive verb

1

a

: to inflict bodily hurt on

b

: to impair the soundness of

injured her health

c

: to inflict material damage or loss on

2

a

: to harm, impair, or tarnish the standing of

injured his reputation

b

: to give pain to

injure a person's pride

c

: to do an injustice to : wrong

injurer

ˈin-jər-ər 

noun

Synonyms

• damage
• harm
• hurt
• wound

Choose the Right Synonym for injure

injure, harm, hurt, damage, impair, mar mean to affect injuriously.

injure implies the inflicting of anything detrimental to one's looks, comfort, health, or success.

badly injured in an accident

harm often stresses the inflicting of pain, suffering, or loss.

careful not to harm the animals

hurt implies inflicting a wound to the body or to the feelings.

hurt by their callous remarks

damage suggests injury that lowers value or impairs usefulness.

a table damaged in shipping

impair suggests a making less complete or efficient by deterioration or diminution.

years of smoking had impaired his health

mar applies to injury that spoils perfection (as of a surface) or causes disfigurement.

the text is marred by many typos

Examples of injure in a Sentence

She fell and injured herself.

She fell and slightly injured her arm.

Several people were badly injured in the accident.

Recent Examples on the Web

The spill killed 11 people and injured 17 others as 210 million gallons of crude oil were released into the Gulf of Mexico (recently renamed by the U.S. government as Gulf of America) for a total of 87 days. —Terry Collins, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025

Memorial at Florida State University after a fatal shooting killed two people and injured several others. —Kati Weis, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2025

On the morning of April 19, 1995, a bomb exploded in a rental truck parked outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City — killing 168 citizens, including 19 children, and injuring 680 in total. —Jeff Truesdell, People.com, 19 Apr. 2025

The show is partially set before the events of Revenge of the Sith, which ends with Anakin’s transformation into Darth Vader after being severely injured in a lightsaber duel with Obi-Wan. —Glenn Garner, Deadline, 19 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English enjuren, from Anglo-French *enjurer, from Late Latin injuriare, from Latin injuria injury

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2c

Rhymes for injure

• ginger
• impinger
• infringer

Kids Definition

injure

verb

in·​jure ˈin-jər 

injured; injuring ˈinj-(ə-)riŋ 

1

: to do an injustice to : wrong

2

: to cause pain or harm to

injured her arm

injured his pride

3

: to cause to suffer damage or loss

a tax that injured business

houses injured by the storm

Medical Definition

injure

transitive verb

in·​jure ˈin-jər 

injured; injuring ˈinj-(ə-)riŋ 

1

: to inflict bodily hurt on

2

: to impair the soundness of

injure your health

Legal Definition

injure

1 of 2 transitive verb

in·​jure

injured; injuring

1

: to interfere with or violate the legally protected interests of: as

a

: to harm the physical, emotional, or mental well-being of

b

: to cause (another) to suffer from damage to, deprivation of, or interference with property or a property interest

c

: to violate the constitutionally or otherwise legally protected rights of

2

: to mar or impair the soundness or appearance of (as a building) : deface

in jure

2 of 2 adverb

in ju·​re

in-ˈju̇r-ē, -ˈyü-rā

: in right, law, or justice

Etymology

Latin