as in harmful
causing or capable of causing harm
the damaging effects of the sun on unprotected skin
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in injuring
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
the explosion in the sewers damaged the entire city's water supply
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in wounding
to cause bodily damage to
his knee was badly damaged in the accident, and he walked with a limp for months
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of damaging
Mary Wasson, Austin American Statesman, 9 Jan. 2026
This is most damaging to wool and silk fabrics and leather shoes.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 8 Jan. 2026
Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Jan. 2026
O'Hara said that a group of people split from the main protest and began damaging hotel windows.
—Chandelis Duster, NPR, 10 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for damaging
Adjective
The weather service's Storm Prediction Center has placed Austin and areas east toward the Texas coast under a level 1 out of 5 risk for isolated severe thunderstorms that could include hail, damaging winds or even a tornado.
—Mary Wasson, Austin American Statesman, 9 Jan. 2026
This is most damaging to wool and silk fabrics and leather shoes.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 8 Jan. 2026
Verb
Stop winter precipitation from damaging your trees and shrubs with these must-know tips.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Jan. 2026
O'Hara said that a group of people split from the main protest and began damaging hotel windows.
—Chandelis Duster, NPR, 10 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for damaging
Recent Examples of Synonyms for damaging
Adjective
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Some harmful varieties closely resemble edible mushrooms, even to experienced foragers.—
Tim Fang,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
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On each phone, the lock screen image was a photo of a child who died young due to the harmful effects of social media.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Police say a rock was thrown at a school bus on the New Jersey Turnpike on Wednesday, shattering a window and seriously injuring a young child.—
Naveen Dhaliwal,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
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On January 1, history repeated itself when a fire erupted at the Le Constellation nightclub in Switzerland, claiming 40 lives — more than half of them under the age of 18 — and injuring over 100 others.—
Christina Diaz,
The Orlando Sentinel,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The suspect, charged with murder and other crimes, allegedly shot at four people in separate vehicles in Prince George’s County, killing one and wounding two.—
Jasmine Golden,
Washington Post,
7 Jan. 2026
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Faceworld members opened fire, killing Jordan and wounding another woman.—
Sam Charles,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Rat poison, in Saban-speak, is what is detrimental to teams that start believing their hype and losing focus on the controllables like working as hard as possible every day.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
3 Jan. 2026
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So did the first-round bye really prove to be that detrimental?—
Antonio Morales,
New York Times,
2 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Including playoffs, Mayfield turned the ball over more than anyone else from 2023 through 2024, marring an otherwise fantastic two seasons in Tampa Bay.—
Jacob Robinson,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
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An optional front rack on both models adds instant utility without marring the retro-fantastic looks.—
William Roberson,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Not forcing her to go means hurting the other girl, forcing her to go means teaching your daughter that her own comfort should be subjugated to make someone else happy.—
Hannah Sacks,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
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These are the most casual of gestures, not comparable to relatives hurting a child.—
Judith Martin,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Placing your carbon monoxide detector in the proper location can alert you to dangerous levels of the invisible gas, which is unfortunately more likely to occur with the use of personal space heaters.—
Shivani Vyas,
Better Homes & Gardens,
14 Jan. 2026
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The Charlotte region faces a harsh night on Thursday, including dangerous wind chills, according to the National Weather Service.—
Mark Price
January 13,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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By integrating regulated on ramp and off ramp flows into its infrastructure, inabit enables companies to manage the full lifecycle of crypto payments and treasury operations without compromising on custody, control, or regulatory alignment.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
15 Jan. 2026
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This can be accomplished without compromising safety.—
Ross Marchand,
Baltimore Sun,
14 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Damaging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/damaging. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
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