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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
This will hurt the GOP badly, including with their own base. Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 June 2025 Social Security cuts will most hurt low-income Boomers, who are the likeliest to rely on benefits to cover their whole cost of living. Charley Locke, The Atlantic, 13 June 2025
Noun
While many of those tariffs have been deescalated or paused, PDD is still feeling the hurt. Ben Kesslen, Quartz, 27 May 2025 Ye West, formerly known as Kanye West, made a rare public plea for forgiveness this week, addressing the hurt caused by his past antisemitic remarks. Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 22 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for hurt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hurt
Verb
  • The slides are very comfortable and give my foot enough support to not ache at the end of the day!
    Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 21 June 2025
  • Niamh has created a world that feels both thrillingly glamorous and emotionally raw, with characters who ache with ambition, desire, and heartbreak.
    Max Goldbart, Deadline, 18 June 2025
Verb
  • Worn restorations: Dental fillings, crowns, and restorations can also become damaged or worn over time, exposing dentin and raising the risk of tooth decay.
    Mark Gurarie, Health, 21 June 2025
  • There is radiological and chemical contamination at the Natanz facility, where an above-ground portion of the fuel enrichment plant was damaged after a military strike on June 13, International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi told the United Nations Security Council on Friday.
    Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 21 June 2025
Verb
  • Miguel Tapia Velázquez was critically injured in a shooting early Saturday morning in Fort Worth, according to police.
    Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 June 2025
  • Since the moment Ben got injured in 2019, our chances of being a true Super Bowl contender have been low.
    Mike DeFabo, New York Times, 19 June 2025
Verb
  • She’s encountered many grieving parents who lost their children to gunfire.
    Tribune News Service, Twin Cities, 21 June 2025
  • Like the notion of never stepping into the same river twice, the protagonist in my own book, upon finally accepting that loving a river is an act of loving an ever-changing, never-graspable flow, is irrevocably changed by that painful experience and yet doesn’t have the staying power to grieve it.
    Siouxzi Connor June 20, Literary Hub, 20 June 2025
Noun
  • To add insult to injury, distress at work has been linked to a decrease in innovative work behavior, meaning all that destructive stress ultimately may yield less inspiring work.
    Drew Gerber, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025
  • The Tennessee law, like Idaho’s, centers on medical care for transgender youth that addresses gender dysphoria, or feelings of distress when a person’s body or presentation doesn’t match their gender identity.
    Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 19 June 2025
Noun
  • In the exposé, Rolling Stone balanced public interest versus potential harm by considering the sensitive details surrounding what was then unverified accusations.
    Ime Ekpo, Forbes.com, 21 June 2025
  • While there is no categorical ban under international law, the use of nuclear weapons would be subject to international humanitarian law (IHL), which requires adherence to the principles of distinction, proportionality, and necessity—especially regarding civilian harm.
    Hugh Cameron Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025
Verb
  • Alonso rushed over and knelt down next to Senga as he was attended to by the trainers, looking pained himself.
    Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 12 June 2025
  • What pained him the most, Abdullah said, was that his building survived the war and was demolished in February, months into the ceasefire.
    Rania Abouzeid, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
Verb
  • They were marred by injuries throughout the season, having entered the season with somewhat high expectations.
    Ricardo Klein, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025
  • Sunday night’s game was marred by an injury sustained by the Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton, who early in the first quarter went down with what would prove to be a torn Achilles tendon.
    Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 23 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Hurt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurt. Accessed 29 Jun. 2025.

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