Synonyms of hurt

hurt 1 of 3

verb

ˈhərt 

1

as in to ache

to feel or cause physical pain

my head hurts

a bad sprain that really hurts

I hurt all over

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ache
• pain
• throb
• swell
• sting
• tingle
• smart
• bleed
• cramp
• bite
• suffer
• itch
• fester
• burn
• anguish
• nag
• chafe
• pinch
• torment
• afflict
• rack
• agonize
• torture
• twinge
• pound
• harrow

2

as in to damage

to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of

don't worry that you'll hurt the new lawn by walking across it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• damage
• injure
• mar
• cripple
• weaken
• compromise
• harm
• spoil
• impair
• erode
• break
• destroy
• bloody
• cross (up)
• ruin
• disfigure
• undermine
• flaw
• vitiate
• deface
• blemish
• wound
• deteriorate
• shatter
• crab
• endamage
• wreck
• tarnish
• wear (away)
• wash out
• batter
• enfeeble
• devastate
• demolish
• dent
• blight
• maim
• smash
• torture
• crush
• torment
• enervate
• ding
• gum (up)
• lacerate
• scour
• botch
• hamstring
• wipe out
• mutilate
• annihilate
• disable
• decimate
• waste
• tear down
• queer
• dint
• desolate
• pulverize
• total
• clobber
• mangle
• bash
• raze
• scourge
• lame
• bang up
• dash
• do in

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• help
• repair
• rebuild
• fix
• patch
• heal
• reconstruct
• mend
• renovate
• cure
• rehabilitate
• revamp
• remedy
• rectify
• improve
• better
• revise
• doctor
• recondition
• enhance
• perfect
• edit
• enrich
• ameliorate
• remodel
• refine
• meliorate

3

as in to injure

to cause bodily damage to

the common belief that reading in poor light hurts your eyes

Synonyms & Similar Words

• injure
• damage
• wound
• bruise
• harm
• scar
• blow out
• bloody
• tear
• lacerate
• torture
• cripple
• maim
• torment
• graze
• hamstring
• scald
• mutilate
• afflict
• cut
• impair
• gore
• strain
• nick
• batter
• crease
• abuse
• gash
• contuse
• scathe
• spoil
• lame
• lay up
• scrape
• mar
• mangle
• aggrieve
• maltreat
• blemish

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fix
• heal
• cure
• remedy
• mend

4

as in to grieve

to feel deep sadness or mental pain

I know you must be hurting from the cruel words they said

Synonyms & Similar Words

• grieve
• ache
• mourn
• suffer
• sigh
• sorrow
• anguish
• cry
• bleed
• agonize
• sob
• weep
• tear one's hair
• eat one's heart out
• pine (away)
• torment
• long (for)
• groan
• torture
• smart
• moan
• regret
• lament
• bewail
• rue
• languish
• bawl
• howl
• bemoan
• rack
• deplore
• keen
• blubber
• wail
• take on
• yammer
• yowl

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• joy
• laugh
• glory
• beam
• rejoice
• triumph
• cheer
• delight
• assure
• sympathize
• reassure
• comfort
• soothe
• exult
• ravish
• crow
• console
• commiserate
• solace

hurt

2 of 3

adjective

as in injured

Related Words

• injured
• damaged
• broken
• spoiled
• harmed
• impaired
• crippled
• disfigured
• marred
• blemished
• inadequate
• insufficient
• fallible
• wanting
• vitiated
• defaced
• incomplete
• deficient
• imperfect
• defective
• flawed
• faulty
• bad
• amiss

Dissimilar Words

• perfect
• intact
• whole
• entire
• complete
• flawless
• impeccable
• faultless
• unimpaired
• undamaged
• unspoiled
• unblemished

hurt

3 of 3

noun

1

as in distress

a state of great suffering of body or mind

in her hurt she said a lot of things to her boyfriend that she didn't really mean

Synonyms & Similar Words

• distress
• pain
• agony
• misery
• anguish
• discomfort
• torment
• torture
• woe
• tribulation
• pang
• sorrow
• sadness
• rack
• excruciation
• heartbreak
• strait(s)
• trouble
• difficulty
• hardship
• travail
• ache
• danger
• affliction
• heartache
• unhappiness
• cross
• emergency
• crucible
• soreness
• jeopardy
• pinch
• smarting
• twinge
• stitch
• trial
• joylessness
• throe
• rigor
• asperity

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• comfort
• relief
• consolation
• solace
• ease
• peace
• alleviation
• security
• assuagement
• well-being

2

as in harm

something that causes loss or pain

a totally baseless accusation that caused lasting hurt to his reputation

Synonyms & Similar Words

• harm
• injury
• damage
• detriment
• insult
• crippling
• affront
• injustice
• disservice
• wrong
• affliction
• disability
• wound
• outrage
• impairment
• beating
• indignity
• mutilation
• disfigurement
• swelling
• mayhem
• dart
• bruise
• lesion
• offense
• burn
• scratch
• abrasion
• rupture
• scar
• contusion
• defacement
• laceration
• gash
• scald
• disablement
• strain
• concussion
• bump
• scrape
• sear
• boo-boo
• cut
• chafe
• scathe

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• recovery
• healing
• remedy
• cure
• fix

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

Recent Examples of hurt

Verb

The receiver’s departure was bigger news than center Drew Dalman’s retirement, but the latter arguably hurt Chicago more (Dalman was coming off his first Pro Bowl and is just 27 years old). — Jacob Robinson, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2026

Arreola, whose fist was not hurt by Knoxville's liver, says the blow was a legit knockout. — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026

Adjective

Many of the hurt kids were at home when tear gas drifted in from streets where federal agents had deployed the chemical agent against crowds of protesters. — Lisa Song, ProPublica, 27 May 2026

Ailing with a hurt knee and foot that kept him from elevating, the graduate transfer from UAB finished with 13 points on 4-of-13 shooting. — Eddie Pells, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Apr. 2026

Noun

The Black community is experiencing a hurt that feels all too familiar. — Melissa S. Johnson, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 July 2026

It was underscored in the Tour’s final kilometers, a blur of hurt and lactic and guts over the Paris cobbles, swapping turns with Mathieu van der Poel towards a dream win on the Champs-Élysées. — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 26 July 2026