DAMAGING Synonyms: 207 Similar and Opposite Words

damaging 1 of 2

adjective

ˈda-mi-jiŋ

Definition of damaging

as in harmful

causing or capable of causing harm the damaging effects of the sun on unprotected skin

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

damaging

2 of 2

verb

present participle of damage

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

as in wounding

to cause bodily damage to his knee was badly damaged in the accident, and he walked with a limp for months

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of damaging

Adjective

Court records show that at the time of his arrest Lundgren was scheduled to appear before a judge in Stone County on July 28 on a charge of damaging jail property. — Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 21 July 2026 Meteorologists are tracking potential thunderstorms today, July 21, that could impact the region with damaging winds, flash flooding and even tornado risks, according to the National Weather Service. — Kaitlyn McCormick, USA Today, 21 July 2026

Verb

There are ways to navigate this tricky dynamic without damaging your relationship with your teen. — Sherri Gordon, Parents, 21 July 2026 But new data points to a concerning trend in which AI is damaging human connection, because people don’t interact with colleagues as much, rely on coworkers or reinforce relationships in the work process. — Tracy Brower, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for damaging

Recent Examples of Synonyms for damaging

Adjective

Your liver is responsible for breaking down toxins and filtering them out of the body, essentially detoxifying you from harmful substances and chemicals.

— Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 22 July 2026
At our previous Yale CEO Caucus, over two-thirds of CEOs surveyed told us that Trump’s tariffs had been harmful to their own businesses, and 80% said that tariff costs had been passed on in part to consumers.

— Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 22 July 2026

Definition of harmful

Verb

On November 17, tanks smashed through the gates, injuring and killing students.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 July 2026
Russia has carried out a wave of ballistic missile and drone strikes on Ukraine, killing at least eight people and injuring dozens, Ukrainian officials said Sunday.

— Anniek Bao,Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 20 July 2026

Definition of injuring

Verb

Moscow seeks to capitalize on this shortage with ballistic missile strikes in early July killing dozens of Ukrainian civilians including children, and wounding hundreds more.

— Ihor N. Stelmach, Hartford Courant, 19 July 2026
In neighboring Iraq, a base of the Kurdistan Freedom Party, an Iranian Kurdish dissident group, near Irbil was struck by a drone early Sunday, wounding eight of its members, according to Rebaz Sharifi, a military official with the group.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 July 2026

Definition of wounding

Verb

To prevent a similar war from happening again, Menelaus scarred her face, permanently marring her famous beauty.

— Tanya Fedak, Variety, 18 July 2026
Lined with live oaks and old-fashioned, busy storefronts, this artsy town on the Gulf of Mexico has no commercial development marring its shoreline.

— Valerie Fraser Luesse, Southern Living, 16 June 2026

Definition of marring

Verb

This unwanted chemical warfare degrades the materials from the inside out, severely hurting performance and shortening the battery’s lifespan.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 17 July 2026
On Tuesday, KeyBanc downgraded Apple to a sell on concerns about price hikes hurting demand.

— Matthew J. Belvedere, CNBC, 15 July 2026

Definition of hurting

Adjective

Experts agree that allowing external services to access Apple’s and Google’s operating systems could be dangerous for security and user privacy.

— Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 19 July 2026
Sources additionally say that officers have burnt out while working overtime month after month — all on top of functioning in an already tense and dangerous environment, likening the situation to a powder keg ready to blow.

— Anna Giaritelli, The Washington Examiner, 19 July 2026

Definition of dangerous

Verb

Concurrently, the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo faces severe international funding shortfalls, severely compromising surveillance and response capabilities.

— Omer Awan, Forbes.com, 24 July 2026
The milestone clears one of the program’s most important early hurdles and validates a design approach focused on reducing development time and production costs without compromising mission performance.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 21 July 2026

Definition of compromising

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damages

damaging

dame

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“Damaging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/damaging. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of damaging

adjective

verb

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