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harm

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word harm distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of harm are damage, hurt, impair, injure, and mar. While all these words mean "to affect injuriously," harm often stresses the inflicting of pain, suffering, or loss.

careful not to harm the animals

When might damage be a better fit than harm?

While the synonyms damage and harm are close in meaning, damage suggests injury that lowers value or impairs usefulness.

a table damaged in shipping

When is it sensible to use hurt instead of harm?

The words hurt and harm are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, hurt implies inflicting a wound to the body or to the feelings.

hurt by their callous remarks

When would impair be a good substitute for harm?

The meanings of impair and harm largely overlap; however, impair suggests a making less complete or efficient by deterioration or diminution.

years of smoking had impaired his health

In what contexts can injure take the place of harm?

The words injure and harm can be used in similar contexts, but injure implies the inflicting of anything detrimental to one's looks, comfort, health, or success.

badly injured in an accident

When can mar be used instead of harm?

While in some cases nearly identical to harm, mar applies to injury that spoils perfection (as of a surface) or causes disfigurement.

the text is marred by many typos

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 harm
Noun
Jurors weren’t persuaded there was a kind of harm to competition that antitrust law ought to remedy. Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 23 Oct. 2025 But as the region’s mountains shift and destabilize, scientists warn that the next dramatic event could put sightseers directly in harm’s way. Sarah Hutter, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2025
Verb
The president said in his video address on Tuesday crime had surged in recent years, damaging Peru's progress as a country and harming thousands of families. Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025 Unattainable beauty standards are harming young girls using social media. ​wendy Wisner, Parents, 21 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for harm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harm
Noun
  • The building and its contents sustained around $100,000 in damage during the fire, WIVB reported.
    Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 26 Oct. 2025
  • The magnitude of the attack and the extent of its damage was not immediately known.
    Laura Sharman, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Earlier, the agency said a man in his 70s was killed by a falling tree in the southern coastal town of Marigot, while five people were injured in the Artibonite region.
    Josh Cradduck, NBC news, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Unless another boy was injured, a boy with a father who resembled me.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Advertisement While the commercial supply of goods has improved since the cease-fire deal, the flow of humanitarian aid continues to be marred by bureaucracy, delays, and blockages.
    Anna Halford, Time, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Martin starred as one of the NFL’s top running backs a decade ago, in a career that was also marred by injuries and off-field challenges.
    Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Tyson Kozak left the game with a lower-body injury after just three shifts.
    Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • According to the Department of Transportation, daylight saving time saves energy, prevents traffic injuries and reduces crime.
    Haadiza Ogwude, Cincinnati Enquirer, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • But something always hurts that late in a marathon.
    Nicholas Thompson, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2025
  • The perception of Trump clearing the way for the Ellisons in the US could hurt them in other markets, sources said.
    Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Silas McCay, 21, Levi Sanders, 18, and a 20-year-old female were also wounded, authorities said.
    Joshua Rhett Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Williams shot two, police say, wounding one and killing Comeaux.
    Mitchell Willetts, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Harm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harm. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on harm

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