as in harmful
causing or capable of causing harm
the incredibly baneful effect that drug addiction has on so many communities
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Recent Examples of baneful
The baneful effects of war on public speech and freedoms in Russia have been well recorded.
—
Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Dec. 2022
The impact these soldiers had on the South was baneful.
—New York Times, 14 Feb. 2022
We are mired in a baneful pandemic unlike anything endured for a century, parsing our lives into 14-day increments of health and survival — or not.
—Peter M. Leschak, Star Tribune, 31 July 2020
To home in on what gives these peculiar primates their baneful bite, Fry and his colleagues collected the underarm secretions from a handful of wild slow lorises housed at a research station in Indonesia and isolated the proteins within.
—Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Feb. 2020
This resulted in all the baneful consequences of the French Revolution, which Edmund Burke so brilliantly exposed in his Reflections on the Revolution in France.
—Jaithirth Rao, Quartz India, 4 Nov. 2019
Chaos convincingly ebbs and flows in this rattling film, a baneful tide lapping at some of history’s most troubled shores.
—Richard Lawson, HWD, 20 July 2017
Chaos convincingly ebbs and flows in this rattling film, a baneful tide lapping at some of history’s most troubled shores.
—Richard Lawson, vanityfair.com, 20 July 2017
Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Dec. 2022
The impact these soldiers had on the South was baneful.
—New York Times, 14 Feb. 2022
We are mired in a baneful pandemic unlike anything endured for a century, parsing our lives into 14-day increments of health and survival — or not.
—Peter M. Leschak, Star Tribune, 31 July 2020
To home in on what gives these peculiar primates their baneful bite, Fry and his colleagues collected the underarm secretions from a handful of wild slow lorises housed at a research station in Indonesia and isolated the proteins within.
—Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Feb. 2020
This resulted in all the baneful consequences of the French Revolution, which Edmund Burke so brilliantly exposed in his Reflections on the Revolution in France.
—Jaithirth Rao, Quartz India, 4 Nov. 2019
Chaos convincingly ebbs and flows in this rattling film, a baneful tide lapping at some of history’s most troubled shores.
—Richard Lawson, HWD, 20 July 2017
Chaos convincingly ebbs and flows in this rattling film, a baneful tide lapping at some of history’s most troubled shores.
—Richard Lawson, vanityfair.com, 20 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for baneful
Adjective
-
Platforms will be required to introduce safety-by-design features, including protections against manipulative design that encourages compulsive use, and take action against underage accounts and harmful content.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 June 2026
-
In addition to being harmful to humans, certain types of mushrooms can be poisonous to pets if consumed.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
DeVries also feels that seniors should not hesitate to file police reports to document adverse incidents.—
Karie Angell Luc,
Chicago Tribune,
5 June 2026
-
The drug is designed to rapidly block platelets from clumping and restricting blood flow, lessening the adverse outcomes of a heart attack.—
Justin Zacks,
CNBC,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
However, be careful when choosing which plants to prune, as getting the timing wrong can be detrimental.—
Helena Madden,
Martha Stewart,
1 June 2026
-
In this instance, using the AI advice could be detrimental to their livelihood.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2026
Adjective
-
Brith had shut her eyes, finding that the sparks were still living on the inside of the lids, vivid in their dangerous dark.—
Maggie O’Farrell,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
-
Carpenter says the disturbing encounters left her fearful for her safety and that of relatives living with her, as police label the suspect’s fixation irrational and increasingly dangerous.—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
The suspects were arrested and have been charged by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office with damaging phone, electrical or utility lines, felony vandalism and grand theft.—
Jason Green,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
-
The fires blazed near Interstate 84 between mileposts 13 and 17 and between Southeast 8th and 9th avenues off of Sand Hollow Road, according to a news release, after a powerful storm system with high, damaging winds blew through the Treasure Valley.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
But that’s made even worse by the fact that a significant portion of these observational studies did not even have a comparison group.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
-
The views over the city aren’t bad either.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Baneful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/baneful. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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