as in detrimental
causing or capable of causing harm
DDT has been proven to be extremely harmful to the environment
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Recent Examples of harmful
The amounts found naturally in foods or added to foods are relatively small and not enough to reach harmful levels.
—
Jillian Kubala, Health, 2 Sep. 2025
And, short of suicides, there is other mounting evidence of people developing harmful chatbot dependencies.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 2 Sep. 2025
While ChatGPT may initially recommend suicide hotlines, the AI could later give harmful answers as the conversation lengthens.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2025
Regulation possible moving forward While horseback riding companies and scientists may not agree on how harmful horse manure is, both sides see a possibility for compromise on regulation.
—Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for harmful
Jillian Kubala, Health, 2 Sep. 2025
And, short of suicides, there is other mounting evidence of people developing harmful chatbot dependencies.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 2 Sep. 2025
While ChatGPT may initially recommend suicide hotlines, the AI could later give harmful answers as the conversation lengthens.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2025
Regulation possible moving forward While horseback riding companies and scientists may not agree on how harmful horse manure is, both sides see a possibility for compromise on regulation.
—Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for harmful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harmful
Adjective
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The fluctuations in temperature can be detrimental to the shelf life of products.—
Karla Walsh,
Southern Living,
30 Aug. 2025
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Like hurricanes, property taxes hit everyone, and the detrimental consequences for Black people have been most severe.—
Arick Wierson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The National Weather Service in Nashville said the region is at a slight risk, a two on the five-step scale, for damaging winds, isolated large hail, heavy rains, frequent lightning and a possible tornado.—
Kirsten Fiscus,
Nashville Tennessean,
5 Sep. 2025
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The terrifying part is that these attacks are likely to become more frequent and more damaging.—
Alan Henry,
PC Magazine,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The illness prevents her body from producing platelets, leaving her at constant risk of dangerous bleeding.—
Liz Neporent,
ABC News,
26 Aug. 2025
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But that wasn't the most dangerous thing that happened to me.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The specialty retailer’s chief financial officer, Robert Ball, said Abercrombie has seen about $5 million in adverse impact from tariffs during the second quarter, chiefly manifested in the cost of sales, and expects $90 million net impact from tariffs for the year.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
4 Sep. 2025
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This tool helps with reading, writing, summarizing, adverse-event profile reviews, label comparisons, clinical protocol assessments, and even generating database code.—
Sixteen Ramos,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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This was a classic Smith performance with tons of yardage and some risky throws with both good and bad results.—
Mike Sando,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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You were called something much worse, and [it was] accepted.—
Brenton Blanchet,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Harmful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harmful. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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