1
as in aches
to feel or cause physical pain
my head hurts a bad sprain that really hurts I hurt all over
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in damages
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in injures
to cause bodily damage to
the common belief that reading in poor light hurts your eyes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in grieves
to feel deep sadness or mental pain
I know you must be hurting from the cruel words they said
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in pains
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in harms
something that causes loss or pain
a totally baseless accusation that caused lasting hurt to his reputation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hurts
The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2026
Twenty years later, the name of Barcelona striker Henrik Larsson still hurts to hear.
—Zohran Mamdani, New York Times, 29 May 2026
If synthetic data hurts performance, engineers can correct, retrain or replace the system.
—Ambuj Tewari, The Conversation, 27 May 2026
Holding these things in only hurts you and those around you.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 23 May 2026
Plus, an extra income never hurts.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 23 May 2026
The incident hurts recent efforts by the United States to forge democratic change in Cuba through a policy of allowing professional and cultural exchanges and diplomatic missions, Penalver said.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 20 May 2026
Cutting science spending also hurts the economy.
—John Drake, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
Truncating the final season so drastically definitely hurts the first half of the series finale, which feels chaotic and rushed.
—ArsTechnica, 15 May 2026
Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026
Modern play calling insists on going for it on fourth downs, particularly in the opponent’s territory, because converting on fourth down helps more than failing to convert on fourth down hurts.
—Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Work On Your Personal Relationships Work on your most significant personal relationship to shore up conflict, hurts and wounds, and turn it into one that is life-giving and energizing.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Verb
Older dogs with arthritis often pant, and dogs with abdominal, chest or spinal pain may pant because normal breathing hurts.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2026
Twenty years later, the name of Barcelona striker Henrik Larsson still hurts to hear.
—Zohran Mamdani, New York Times, 29 May 2026
If synthetic data hurts performance, engineers can correct, retrain or replace the system.
—Ambuj Tewari, The Conversation, 27 May 2026
Holding these things in only hurts you and those around you.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 23 May 2026
Plus, an extra income never hurts.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 23 May 2026
The incident hurts recent efforts by the United States to forge democratic change in Cuba through a policy of allowing professional and cultural exchanges and diplomatic missions, Penalver said.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 20 May 2026
Cutting science spending also hurts the economy.
—John Drake, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
Truncating the final season so drastically definitely hurts the first half of the series finale, which feels chaotic and rushed.
—ArsTechnica, 15 May 2026
Noun
The wounds and humiliations of private life can rarely be redressed by law; literature offers a parallel tribunal in which those hurts are litigated and, if possible, imaginatively overcome.
—Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026
Modern play calling insists on going for it on fourth downs, particularly in the opponent’s territory, because converting on fourth down helps more than failing to convert on fourth down hurts.
—Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Work On Your Personal Relationships Work on your most significant personal relationship to shore up conflict, hurts and wounds, and turn it into one that is life-giving and energizing.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hurts
Verb
-
Common symptoms include a fever, chills, fatigue, headache, body aches, chest tightness, coughing, shortness of breath and airway irritation.—
Ryan Brennan
June 2,
Sacbee.com,
3 June 2026
-
First symptoms often include extreme tiredness, headaches, swollen lymph nodes and muscle aches.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
She was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease eight years ago, a neurological disorder that damages brain cells, leading to symptoms like uncontrollable movements, tremors, and balance issues.—
Madeline Montgomery,
CBS News,
3 June 2026
-
Chronic inflammation damages blood vessels, stiffening them and increasing resistance.—
Jennifer Berger,
Verywell Health,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
This storyline later appeared in the second season of Girls, as Dunham’s character Hannah is overwhelmed with the anxiety of writing a novel and similarly injures herself.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Apr. 2026
-
In her desperation to ask Val for a job on the new sitcom, Sharon falls and injures herself.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Professor, with only her ex-partner’s cat for company, sits in her decaying apartment and grieves the loss of her relationship and her struggle with infertility.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 May 2026
-
The film follows a woman who grieves the loss of her mother by secretly attending the funerals of strangers.—
Brayden Garcia,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Acer was also at pains to point out the large performance differential between the RTX 5070 Ti and the vanilla RTX 5070, which sounds similar.—
John Burek,
PC Magazine,
29 May 2026
-
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz compounded the pains of militia attacks, forcing Iraq to declare force-majeure on foreign-run oil operations and curtail production.—
Nabil Salih,
Time,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
As a part of a broader effort to help curtail these ill effects, HHS has released a comprehensive advisory report on the harms of screen use and how parents can help promote healthy habits.—
Forbes.com,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2026
-
As national movements for racial justice gathered momentum a decade ago, students on campuses were also becoming more aware and outspoken about racial harms.—
Ingrid A. Nelson,
The Conversation,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
My boredom typically spurs feelings of frustration, guilt, shame—and long nutritionless spells of goggling, slack-jawed, at celebrity news on my phone while the world throbs around me.—
Daniel Smith,
The Atlantic,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Pain that is not a word throbs in his shoulders, awakens him each morning.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
No sadness mars the purity of its paranoia.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2026
-
However, an earnestness mars most of the proceedings.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hurts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurts. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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