hurt 1 of 3

1
2
3
4

hurt

2 of 3

noun

hurt

3 of 3

adjective

Synonym Chooser

How is the word hurt distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of hurt are damage, harm, impair, injure, and mar. While all these words mean "to affect injuriously," hurt implies inflicting a wound to the body or to the feelings.

hurt by their callous remarks

When can damage be used instead of hurt?

Although the words damage and hurt have much in common, damage suggests injury that lowers value or impairs usefulness.

a table damaged in shipping

When might harm be a better fit than hurt?

The words harm and hurt can be used in similar contexts, but harm often stresses the inflicting of pain, suffering, or loss.

careful not to harm the animals

When could impair be used to replace hurt?

The words impair and hurt are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, impair suggests a making less complete or efficient by deterioration or diminution.

years of smoking had impaired his health

When would injure be a good substitute for hurt?

While in some cases nearly identical to hurt, injure implies the inflicting of anything detrimental to one's looks, comfort, health, or success.

badly injured in an accident

When is mar a more appropriate choice than hurt?

While the synonyms mar and hurt are close in meaning, 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 hurt
Verb
With a hurt offensive line, the team may need to start figuring out what to do regarding the issues with the passing game. James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025 Rose would cry, somehow even more hurt than me. Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2025
Noun
Cuban wrote in a post on X Wednesday that the move will hurt OpenAI’s business as parents prevent their children from using the chatbot. Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2025 Why does this hurt him so badly? Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
Another child said her tummy hurt. Jason Kane, NBC news, 15 Sep. 2025 Past grievances often resurface because the real hurt beneath those issues wasn’t addressed. Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hurt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hurt
Verb
  • My vanity ached at the thought.
    Susan Orlean, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2025
  • The pain of that premature departure still aches more than a decade on.
    Jack Bantock, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Driving through deep water can also damage a vehicle's mechanical and electrical systems.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Putin himself has previously suggested that the United States supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine will seriously damage relations between Moscow and Washington.
    Jason Ma, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • From January to June, more than 3,100 people were reported killed across Haiti and an additional 1,100 reported injured, according to the United Nations.
    NPR, NPR, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Ten minutes later, Martinelli actually scored after making a good run in behind from the right wing as Saka had gone off injured.
    Art de Roché, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The acclaimed actors’ characters are brought together by geography in the eight-episode Netflix series in which Rhys’ Nile — previously suspected of killing his wife — moves in near Danes’ Wiggs, a grieving author.
    Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2025
  • The 27-year-old is still grieving the loss of Stone, who died on March 1 at the age of 63 in a car crash in Alabama.
    Essence, Essence, 15 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Because of that, diabetes distress has been linked to other serious mental health issues.
    Lauren J. Young, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Family members of the victims filed defamation and emotional distress lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas, where Jones’ Infowars talk show is based.
    Ted Johnson, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • This has kept geolocation deals from causing severe economic harm compared to revenue, multiple people at betting companies told Sportico.
    Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 16 Oct. 2025
  • The school once contributed to the eradication of smallpox and the development of the polio vaccine, led breakthroughs linking air pollution to lung and heart disease, and helped demonstrate the harms of trans fats.
    Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The concussion protocols are obviously in place to avoid situations like this, where coaches may potentially have any kind of influence on whether an injured player returns or not.
    Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Police had discovered the injured victim sitting in a chair after officers responded to the family's home.
    Becca Longmire, PEOPLE, 10 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Chest aches, fevers, debilitating headaches and chills pained 15-year-old Sufiya Syed for more than a year before doctors finally diagnosed her two months ago.
    CNN Money, CNN Money, 21 Sep. 2025
  • When the body feels stress, your heart rate and blood pressure jump, stress chemicals rise, and the brain may turn pain down for a moment.
    Dayanne S. Antonio, The Conversation, 18 Sep. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hurt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurt. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on hurt

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!