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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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

The express trains would skip local stops in most communities, offering zero service to residents along the rail line while potentially hurting state and federal funding for existing systems such as the CTA and Metra that serve actual commuters. — Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026 Google's problem is that chatbots are becoming an alternative to search, leading consumers to click far fewer blue links and hurting Google's ad revenue. — Ari Levy, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2026 His experience changed when Minnesota caregiver consultant Jayne Mund arrived with a team to teach Ron how to care for Vangie without hurting her or himself. — Raginee Sudhir Chaurey, CNN Money, 1 Nov. 2026 Shortening gatherings or making specific activities optional can keep a hurting child from feeling cornered by a tradition. — Ashley Lynch, Charlotte Observer, 30 Oct. 2026 Katie Davey, executive director of Dairy Institute of California, said that the higher diesel costs hurting her members will eventually lead to higher costs for consumers. — Lizzie Kane, Sacbee.com, 30 Oct. 2026 The crew threw live birds at her, inflicting real injuries and once coming dangerously close to hurting her eye. — Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2026 This significant swing underscores that many Americans across the country are really hurting in this economy. — Ari Pinkus, The Conversation, 28 Oct. 2026 Can the Cowboys take advantage of the hurting Eagles, or will Philadelphia rally behind their backups and get the victory? — Outkick, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 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

The ship dragged its anchor along the seabed for about 80 miles, damaging two telecommunications cables, according to a court statement.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
Kennedy’s fringe beliefs, such as his zealous anti-vaccine views, his rejection of germ theory, and his false claim that 5G is damaging our brains and causing cancer.

— Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of damaging

Verb

In Paris, rioters targeted police with Molotov cocktails at the end of Saturday’s march on the city’s eastern edge, injuring three officers and setting a car ablaze, police said.

— Angela Charlton, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2026
Several days later, a commuter train near Barcelona derailed, killing the driver and injuring dozens of other people.

— Hernan Muñoz, NBC news, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of injuring

Verb

This is really a lovely, meaningful approach to grieving, self-healing and to creating space where people can meditate and breathe and feel connected.

— Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 8 Nov. 2026
For people like us grieving the passing of a furry friend, and others who have a fondness for dogs but not be ready to own one, programs like Barks & Recreation can serve a valuable purpose.

— Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 8 Nov. 2026

Definition of grieving

Adjective

The heartwarming film takes us on a ride through archive and new footage and rehearsals and re-enactments of Happy Gays that bring up happy but also painful memories, along with a different side of the at times curmudgeonly Jolanda.

— Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 5 Nov. 2026
For the third time in two seasons, Sam is forced to sever a relationship, and this one may be the most painful, the most cruel, because in killing Jerry, Sam is destroying potential.

— Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of painful

Verb

The Trib is withholding Nick’s full name to avoid marring his reputation in the eyes of future employers or others who might run a search on him.

— Kate Payne, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
The latter track takes overt inspiration from Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film Marie Antoinette, as Jepsen beckons her love to engage in life’s vices with her, like marring bedsheets with fruit stains and dashing nude through the garden.

— Jaeden Pinder, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of marring

Verb

Russian drones struck six areas in the Dnipropetrovsk region, wounding three people in the city of Dnipro, regional administrator Oleksandr Hanzha said.

— Derek Gatopoulos, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
In the northeast city of Kharkiv, the regional administration said a Russian strike hit a medical facility, wounding 25 people and forcing the evacuation of around 200 patients.

— CBS News, CBS News, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of wounding

Verb

His older brother Teboho Edkins decided to make a film about the experience of grief and mourning that his family and the local community went through.

— Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 6 Nov. 2026
The town of some 3,000 inhabitants declared three days of mourning with flags at half mast at the town hall.

— ABC News, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2026