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
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 hurts
Lauren Kaori Gurley, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026
That one still hurts a little bit.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Jan. 2026
Use clean pruners to cut lemons carefully, since picking too early or too late hurts flavor and future blooms.
—Helena Madden, Martha Stewart, 6 Jan. 2026
Shamet’s absence due to a shoulder sprain hurts the Knicks because the veteran sharpshooter plays with a pace New York has sorely missed.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 4 Jan. 2026
Physical bullying happens when a child hits, kicks, trips, pushes, chokes or otherwise hurts another child.
—Dr. Mahvash Madni, Boston Herald, 4 Jan. 2026
Maybe your New Year's resolutions included eating fewer sweets, but something sweet to end the day never hurts.
—Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 2 Jan. 2026
Every snowless day hurts, but Keller said staff members feel the disappointment right alongside visitors and the dogs.
—Spencer Wilson, CBS News, 29 Dec. 2025
The situation remains devastating but what hurts the most is the silence.
—NPR, 8 Nov. 2025
Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Verb
In seismic papers, Borjas’s research described the drawbacks of immigration, including his oft-cited, though much-disputed, findings that the arrival of lower-skilled immigrants hurts American workers who compete for jobs, especially poor people and African Americans.
—Lauren Kaori Gurley, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026
That one still hurts a little bit.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Jan. 2026
Use clean pruners to cut lemons carefully, since picking too early or too late hurts flavor and future blooms.
—Helena Madden, Martha Stewart, 6 Jan. 2026
Shamet’s absence due to a shoulder sprain hurts the Knicks because the veteran sharpshooter plays with a pace New York has sorely missed.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 4 Jan. 2026
Physical bullying happens when a child hits, kicks, trips, pushes, chokes or otherwise hurts another child.
—Dr. Mahvash Madni, Boston Herald, 4 Jan. 2026
Maybe your New Year's resolutions included eating fewer sweets, but something sweet to end the day never hurts.
—Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 2 Jan. 2026
Every snowless day hurts, but Keller said staff members feel the disappointment right alongside visitors and the dogs.
—Spencer Wilson, CBS News, 29 Dec. 2025
The situation remains devastating but what hurts the most is the silence.
—NPR, 8 Nov. 2025
Noun
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
-
Super flu virus symptoms The subclade K variant of flu A causes similar symptoms to other strains, including high fever, severe body aches, extreme fatigue, persistent cough, sore throat and intense headaches.—
Lori Comstock,
Freep.com,
6 Jan. 2026
-
My heart aches for you and for your beautiful little girls.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
For people with celiac disease, gluten triggers an autoimmune response that damages the small intestine.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Scientists think that chronic inflammation damages the brain and increases the risk of dementia.—
Dana G. Smith,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
California law already criminalizes unsafe gun storage in certain situations, including when a child accesses a firearm and injures or kills someone.—
Grant Stringer,
Mercury News,
29 Dec. 2025
-
In self-defense, Franck's group injures one of the attackers.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
26 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The annual hand-wringing around whether New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone should be fired is already under way, but that won’t be decided for weeks as the club’s management takes a breath and grieves the club’s latest playoff exit.—
Barry M. Bloom,
Sportico.com,
12 Oct. 2025
-
In Saunders’s afterlife, various spirits join Willie, Lincoln’s eleven-year-old son who has died from typhoid fever, while his father grieves in the crypt.—
Book Marks
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
In fact, Williams took great pains to establish that his primary objective is building the Terps (7-7, 0-3 Big Ten), not tearing down a 21-year-old prospect, the Bears or the sport’s governing body.—
Edward Lee,
Baltimore Sun,
3 Jan. 2026
-
Those in their fifties and beyond require the same amount of sleep as younger adults—and may actually benefit from sleeping more to offset nightly wake-ups from aches and pains, medication side effects, or dealing with the need to urinate more frequently in the middle of the night.—
Emma Loewe,
Outside,
1 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
OpenAI has also announced plans to hire a new Head of Preparedness, a role focused on identifying potential harms tied to its AI models and strengthening safeguards around issues ranging from mental health to cybersecurity as those systems grow more capable.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
5 Jan. 2026
-
The brief argues that the commission failed to consider significant, concrete harms to local industry and communities.—
Center Square,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Pain that is not a word throbs in his shoulders, awakens him each morning.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
6 Jan. 2026
-
While the game is played across the country, its pulse throbs in Rio.—
Michal Ruprecht,
NPR,
28 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Deadly holiday weekend mars broad crime drop The back-and-forth followed a Labor Day weekend of deadly violence in Chicago worse than in the previous two years, with seven people shot to death, according to preliminary Chicago Police Department reports.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Valuing a project at cost of production rather than value in an arm’s length sale—common in all economic statistics—especially mars Chinese data.—
Bill Conerly,
Forbes.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hurts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurts. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share