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Definition of hurtnext
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hurt

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adjective

hurt

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noun

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
The three family members suffered significant injuries from the collision, while the truck’s driver was not hurt. David Chiu, PEOPLE, 8 Jan. 2026 In a statement published on Thursday, Simon Stiell, UNFCCC executive secretary, said that the decision would only hurt the United States in the long run. Simmone Shah, Time, 8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
Gen Z has seen the steepest decline in credit scores of any age group this year as student loans repayments, a tough job market, high inflation and fewer opportunities to build credit early hurt young borrowers, according to the inaugural FICO Score Credit Insights Report. Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 27 Oct. 2025 But sub Tyrod Taylor is less than fit with a hurt knee. Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
Noun
The suffering in these songs is almost comical, but the hurt under the wordplay was real. Alex Abramovich, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025 Sometimes, the only way past the hurt is not around the muck, but through it. Anna Holmes, The Atlantic, 16 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hurt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hurt
Verb
  • What begins as a casual conversation about the weather and aching hips gradually deepens into an unexpected friendship – and perhaps something more.
    Zac Ntim, Deadline, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Listeria infection also causes fever, muscle aches, and tiredness.
    McClatchy Media, Sacbee.com, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Stay away from windows as flying debris generated by damaging winds can be deadly.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 10 Nov. 2025
  • According to Brown, Hurricane Michael damaged 80 percent of the park’s namesake trees, but through a project with the Florida Park Service and Atlanta Botanical Garden, seeds obtained from living trees are being grown and planted in the ravine habitat at Torreya State Park.
    Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 9 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • When Dobbins was first injured, a source close to him said the best-case scenario for his return was if the Broncos made the Super Bowl.
    Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 10 Jan. 2026
  • Dellandrea was injured in the Sharks’ game on Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets as his right leg struck the post after he was inadvertently tripped while driving to the net.
    Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 10 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • According to a new Daily Mail report, Reiner’s grieving siblings, Jake and Romy, are not inclined to support any attempt by their brother to lessen his criminal responsibility for their parents’ murder.
    Martha Ross, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026
  • Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her husband Ivara Esege, MD, are grieving an unimaginable loss.
    Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • But the Thunder, as small as can be without injured centers Isaiah Hartenstein, Jaylin Williams and Holmgren, pieced together a valiant comeback behind the efforts of eight-year veteran forward Kenrich Williams.
    Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2026
  • Upon arrival, officers found the injured man and woman, and the officers applied a tourniquet and recruited help from emergency medical personnel, per the release from PPB.
    Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 9 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • The plaintiff seeks damages for privacy invasion, emotional distress, reputational harm and alleged placement on government watch lists.
    Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 8 Jan. 2026
  • The initial wave of relief soon lifted, giving way to distress when Franco learned his home was uninhabitable.
    Joy Benedict, CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • This appears as an attempt to kill or to cause bodily harm to the agent ---- an act of domestic terrorism.
    Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 9 Jan. 2026
  • Robbery – The taking of anything of value from the control, custody or care of another person by force or threat of force and/or by putting the victim in fear of immediate harm.
    Baltimore Sun staff, Baltimore Sun, 9 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • To see how much this moment pained Seattle and its players, look no further than MVP candidate Cal Raleigh, who was reduced to tears at the end of the game.
    George Ramsay, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 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

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Cite this Entry

“Hurt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurt. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.

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