harms 1 of 2

plural of harm

harms

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of harm
1
2

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 harms
Noun
Parents don’t seem happy about how things are going, with 80% saying the harms outweigh the benefits their kids get from social media. Kara Alaimo, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2025 The Lost Screen Memorial features 50 smartphones illuminated with the lock screen photo of a child whose life was tragically cut short due to online harms, shared by members of The Parent's Network. Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 10 Oct. 2025 Those living unsheltered suffer preventable harms such as frostbite and heatstroke in Colorado’s climate of extremes. Sarah Stella, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2025 Newsom issued an executive order earlier this year requiring the Department of Public Health to provide recommendations by April on limiting harms from ultraprocessed foods. Sophie Austin, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2025 Sébastien Philippe of the University of Wisconsin–Madison is a nuclear security specialist who has studied past harms and potential risks of building, testing and storing nuclear weapons. Elizabeth Blair, NPR, 8 Oct. 2025 The increasing use of these toxins in recent decades may result in extensive health harms. Tom Frieden, Big Think, 30 Sep. 2025 Meanwhile, environmental advocates have raised concerns, including infringing on tribal culture and potential harms to nearby wetlands, groundwater, rivers and threatened and endangered species, such as wood turtles. Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 29 Sep. 2025 Bayer has since agreed to pay out more than $12 billion to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging health harms from Roundup exposure. Dominique Mosbergen, Time, 29 Sep. 2025
Verb
Lead poisoning, all but eradicated in the West, still harms millions of children in the developing world, with lead-acid battery recycling a key culprit. Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 14 Oct. 2025 The team also found that such cells worked best when manufactured at 842°F (450 °C), which prevented gold atoms from diffusing (a common issue that harms performance). Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 2025 This drug starves babies and harms mothers! Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025 For example, a study last year found links between microplastics exposure—especially when consumed through food—and harms to reproductive, digestive, and respiratory health. Matt Fuchs, Time, 29 Sep. 2025 Evidence suggests that malnutrition in early development harms the ability of the pancreas to pump out insulin. Jonathan Lambert, NPR, 29 Sep. 2025 That harms outcomes and raises risks. Elizabeth Shackelford, Twin Cities, 26 Sep. 2025 How childhood food insecurity fuels eating disorder risk Lacking consistent access to food harms children’s physical health and well-being in the short term and puts them at higher risk for significant mental health problems in the future. Oona Hanson, CNN Money, 16 Sep. 2025 By continuing to engage with these entities, the Academy risks aligning with a system that inadvertently harms the very people these sanctions aim to protect. Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harms
Noun
  • To date, Jones has not paid any monetary damages to the Sandy Hook families.
    Todd Spangler, Variety, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Dixon is seeking $260 million in damages from Perry and his production company, Tyler Perry Studios.
    Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Derek gravely injures his hand.
    Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2025
  • Gafford injures ankle The Mavericks are likely to be without one of their major frontcourt pieces this preseason.
    Christian Clark, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • This is where Sturm’s back injury hurts.
    Michael Russo, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
  • Calling recently during a two-day run in Madison, Wisconsin, Batiste is delighted to discuss not only his new music, but his love of Joni Mitchell, his collaboration with Beyoncé and how the loss of late-night shows hurts musicians.
    Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Benson returns in style Of the Sabres’ early-season injuries, Benson’s absence might have hurt the most.
    Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • In 2024, the most recent year for which data is available, the company reported five injuries and one illness.
    Isabel Rosales, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Even with all of them in place, Shirley misses the masked attacker sneaking his way up to the apartment door, and Lamb’s attempt to blind him with bleach creates a chaotic struggle that wounds the assailant without containing him.
    Scott Tobias, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Set against Mumbai’s relentless pulse, their delicate connection faces tests as personal histories, desires, and wounds resurface.
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Deadly holiday weekend mars broad crime drop The back-and-forth followed a Labor Day weekend of deadly violence in Chicago worse than in the previous two years, with seven people shot to death, according to preliminary Chicago Police Department reports.
    Andy Rose, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Valuing a project at cost of production rather than value in an arm’s length sale—common in all economic statistics—especially mars Chinese data.
    Bill Conerly, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Blocking them causes disruption to the cells’ energy-generating mitochondria and leads to oxidative stress, which further weakens cancer.
    Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Even as the storm weakens over Baja California, its tropical moisture will continue to drift north, fueling intense downpours and possible flooding across the Southwest.
    Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 10 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Second, this ambiguity around responsibility cripples an organization’s ability to respond effectively.
    Nelson Lim, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Drones allow aggressors to target critical infrastructure that cripples a defender’s economy at low cost and with high accuracy.
    Omar Al-Ubaydli, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Harms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harms. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on harms

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!