HURTING Synonyms: 216 Similar and Opposite Words

hurting 1 of 2

adjective

as in aching

causing or feeling bodily pain a badly hurting finger kept her from writing neatly

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

hurting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of hurt

as in throbbing

to feel or cause physical pain my head hurts a bad sprain that really hurts I hurt all over

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as in damaging

to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of don't worry that you'll hurt the new lawn by walking across it

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in injuring

to cause bodily damage to the common belief that reading in poor light hurts your eyes

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as in grieving

to feel deep sadness or mental pain I know you must be hurting from the cruel words they said

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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 hurting

Verb

This unwanted chemical warfare degrades the materials from the inside out, severely hurting performance and shortening the battery’s lifespan. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 17 July 2026 On Tuesday, KeyBanc downgraded Apple to a sell on concerns about price hikes hurting demand. — Matthew J. Belvedere, CNBC, 15 July 2026 Lounging at Sunset Beach, taking a stroll around Big Bear Lake and picnics at the scenic Kate Sessions Park in San Diego are just a few ways this reporter has enjoyed her day without totally hurting the wallet — gas prices aside, of course. — Paris Barraza, USA Today, 15 July 2026 There was some solid back-and-forth in the first frame, but Costa seized the momentum late in the frame, hurting Durden just before the horn. — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026 The idea of hurting your kids is like just the worst nightmare possible. — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026 Moskowitz voted for the biggest tax hike in history, hurting families, business, seniors, and our community. — Scott Singer, Sun Sentinel, 9 July 2026 Paul’s words have proven prescient during the first few days of Wimbledon, where players losing their footing and either hurting themselves or not is as perennial as the strawberries and cream. — Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 3 July 2026 On the hardware side, this means functional safety measures that keep the robot from hurting the people around it. — Amanda McMaster, Fortune, 30 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hurting

Adjective

The homestretch of the drama, however, takes the story in a chilling direction, packing an aching quantity of feeling into a single glance at a security camera as someone climbs into a car and leaves the compound, never to be heard from again.

— Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 26 May 2026
Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain (1997) Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain is an aching, tender slow burn shaped by absence.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026

Definition of aching

Verb

Rodriguez pleaded guilty to damaging property occupied by a foreign government, explosive materials—malicious damage to federal property, and receipt or possession of an unregistered firearm.

— David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 16 July 2026
Conventional launch vehicles secure their payloads inside protective fairings that fall away from the rocket completely once damaging aerodynamic forces disappear in the vacuum of space.

— Josh Dinner, Space.com, 15 July 2026

Definition of damaging

Verb

On November 17, tanks smashed through the gates, injuring and killing students.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 July 2026
Russia has carried out a wave of ballistic missile and drone strikes on Ukraine, killing at least eight people and injuring dozens, Ukrainian officials said Sunday.

— Anniek Bao,Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 20 July 2026

Definition of injuring

Verb

The flooding brings back painful memories for the community, as many residents are still grieving the losses caused by last July’s floods, Kerrville Police Chief Jerel Haley said Thursday.

— Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 17 July 2026
Slonim cataloged a mountain of evidence alone, coordinated with the ATF and the Yolo DA, and interviewed suspects and grieving families.

— Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 17 July 2026

Definition of grieving

Adjective

When asked whether this was the most painful moment of his football career, Tuchel would not commit.

— Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 18 July 2026
England was knocked out of the World Cup in painful fashion on Wednesday, surrendering two goals in the final 15 minutes of its semifinal clash with Argentina.

— Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 18 July 2026

Definition of painful

Verb

To prevent a similar war from happening again, Menelaus scarred her face, permanently marring her famous beauty.

— Tanya Fedak, Variety, 18 July 2026
Lined with live oaks and old-fashioned, busy storefronts, this artsy town on the Gulf of Mexico has no commercial development marring its shoreline.

— Valerie Fraser Luesse, Southern Living, 16 June 2026

Definition of marring

Verb

Moscow seeks to capitalize on this shortage with ballistic missile strikes in early July killing dozens of Ukrainian civilians including children, and wounding hundreds more.

— Ihor N. Stelmach, Hartford Courant, 19 July 2026
In neighboring Iraq, a base of the Kurdistan Freedom Party, an Iranian Kurdish dissident group, near Irbil was struck by a drone early Sunday, wounding eight of its members, according to Rebaz Sharifi, a military official with the group.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 July 2026

Definition of wounding

Verb

The Lee family is mourning Yip Pik Yi, 65; Lee Chun Man, 44; Yan Yan, 15 months; and Erawati, 34, a domestic worker from Indonesia.

— New York Times, New York Times, 20 July 2026
The Madruga family released a statement Thursday afternoon mourning her death.

— Michael McGough Updated July 16, Sacbee.com, 17 July 2026