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
Combined with sensational media coverage and advocacy by special interests, such studies have led to ineffective or even harmful national health policies.
—
Stephen B. Soumerai, STAT, 7 Jan. 2026
Some fruit pits and seeds, like those in apples and pears, contain traces of cyanide, which is harmful to birds.
—Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 6 Jan. 2026
Extreme or highly restrictive diets often cause nutrient deficiencies, metabolic slowdown, and other harmful side effects.
—Jillian Kubala, Health, 6 Jan. 2026
Further increasing spending and raising taxes now would be a harmful mistake and unnecessary to deliver the services New Yorkers need.
—Andrew Rein, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for harmful
Stephen B. Soumerai, STAT, 7 Jan. 2026
Some fruit pits and seeds, like those in apples and pears, contain traces of cyanide, which is harmful to birds.
—Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 6 Jan. 2026
Extreme or highly restrictive diets often cause nutrient deficiencies, metabolic slowdown, and other harmful side effects.
—Jillian Kubala, Health, 6 Jan. 2026
Further increasing spending and raising taxes now would be a harmful mistake and unnecessary to deliver the services New Yorkers need.
—Andrew Rein, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for harmful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harmful
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
Adjective
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Davis’ injury is the latest — and potentially most damaging — blow in a Mavericks season defined by attrition.—
Mike Curtis,
Dallas Morning News,
10 Jan. 2026
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After a damaging winter storm of rain, wind, and flooding, staff at Mountain High Resorts in Wrightwood have been working around the clock to prepare for reopening day on Saturday.—
Julie Sharp,
CBS News,
10 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
Adjective
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Public systems can be somewhat risk adverse.—
Grace Hase,
Mercury News,
9 Jan. 2026
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Nekrasov said adverse weather conditions also left parts of several other regions without power, including Chernihiv, Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakarpattia.—
Ashley Carnahan,
FOXNews.com,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Now, but as the statistics and figures come in here in Minneapolis, there's double-digit drops in crime, coupled with a lot of bad people and bad things being taken off of your streets.—
Esme Murphy,
CBS News,
13 Jan. 2026
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Under President Biden, the FTC and DOJ slowed large transactions, suggesting that all big businesses were bad businesses.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harmful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harmful. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
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