HARMS Synonyms: 151 Similar and Opposite Words

harms 1 of 2

noun

Definition of harms next

plural of harm

as in damages

something that causes loss or pain you were lucky to survive the fire without harm no harm in trying

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harms

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of harm

as in injures

to cause bodily damage to though she wasn't harmed by the flying glass, she slipped and fell on a piece and cut her hand

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as in hurts

to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of the company's reputation has been harmed by allegations of crooked accounting

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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

At a certain point, not even a generous tip seems like enough to offset these harms. —

Shannon Keating, Time, 8 May 2026 Claiming there were no factual disputes to weigh, the majority agreed that plaintiffs showed that harms from unlawful tariffs were imminent and ongoing, requiring relief in the form of a permanent injunction that must be granted once the court reached a decision on how to interpret the statute. —

Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 8 May 2026 This should serve the greater good and start to fulfill the duty of reparation for past harms, including underrepresentation or stereotyping of women and minority groups. —

Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 May 2026 Those who are between 40 and 49 years of age are encouraged to discuss their risk of breast cancer with a doctor, weighing the potential benefits and harms of screening. —

Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026 The guidance states that potential harms in this age group, including false positives, psychological distress, overdiagnosis, overtreatment and radiation exposure, may outweigh the uncertain benefits of screening. —

Allison Palmer, Kansas City Star, 6 May 2026 The addictiveness of social media with young people recently led a jury in Los Angeles to find Meta and YouTube negligent for designing their apps in ways that caused children to become addicted, leading to mental health harms. —

Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 4 May 2026 In the 1990s, tobacco companies were forced to pay billions of dollars for misleading the public about the safety and potential harms of their products, and subsequently saw their power and influence dwindle dramatically. —

Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 4 May 2026 May 1 marks the first payment of billions to try to address ongoing harms from the overdose crisis. —

Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 1 May 2026

Verb

And, like its predecessors, this picture tries to present an innocent image of a product that harms human health and the environment. —

Annie Persons, The Conversation, 7 May 2026 No matter the method, every variation of this practice harms audiences, artists, venues and the live entertainment industry. —

Lori Dimun, Chicago Tribune, 6 May 2026 Cerda says this Latino wealth gap report is important because the immigration crackdown of undocumented Latino people leads to uncertainty about their futures, the inability to be promoted or to apply for other jobs because of their undocumented status, which ultimately harms Texas’ economy. —

Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 May 2026 Throwing food waste like apple cores out of your car window harms wildlife, ecosystems, and the outdoor experience. —

Emily Hayes, Martha Stewart, 2 May 2026 By spacing screenings to every two years, the ACP argues the tradeoff between early detection and minimizing those harms shifts in most women’s favor. —

Allison Palmer, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2026 Lead impairs cognition and cadmium harms the kidneys. —

Anton L. Delgado, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026 This activity harms unique ecosystems and significantly impacts artisanal and small-scale fishers in the region. —

Brittney Melton, NPR, 27 Apr. 2026 Chicago arts venues say there's a common practice that harms audiences and the venues themselves. —

Noel Brennan, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for harms

Noun

An army of lawyers showed up at a hearing Tuesday to iron out issues ahead of an upcoming trial to determine whether the owner and operator of the ship that struck the Key Bridge should be held liable for the full damages caused by the tragedy.

— Mike Hellgren, CBS News, 5 May 2026
Musk is asking the court to unwind OpenAI’s conversion, remove Altman and Brock, and award him up to a hundred and fifty billion dollars (no typo) in damages.

— John Cassidy, New Yorker, 4 May 2026