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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
On a monthly basis, PPI dipped by 0.1% compared to a 0.1% increase in November, as infrastructure and real estate projects were temporarily suspended during the off-season, the National Bureau of Statistics said, hurting demand for steel. Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 9 Jan. 2025 Trump has also argued the special counsel was appointed unlawfully and that any public report would be legally invalid and hurt his transition into the White House. Carrie Johnson, NPR, 8 Jan. 2025
Noun
Georgia’s interior ministry said 21 police officers had been injured during the overnight protest, with 113 hurt since the beginning of the unrest. Reuters, NBC News, 2 Dec. 2024 Ditch your old mattress that makes your back hurt and replace it with one of these on-sale options. Lauren Taylor, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for hurt 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hurt
Verb
  • Proprietors of once-bustling shops that sell everything from lighting fixtures and doors to toilet bowls are aching for customers.
    Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2025
  • My heart aches for all of these people who are suffering.
    Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 16 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • The most recent rupture occurred on Sunday, damaging a fiber optic cable connecting Latvia to the Swedish island of Gotland.
    Barbara A. Perry, Newsweek, 28 Jan. 2025
  • Conversely, toxic families are characterized by harmful behaviors that damage the emotional and psychological well-being of family members.
    Samantha Mann, Parents, 27 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Detectives arrested a suspect associated with a stabbing that killed a woman and left a man seriously injured in west Roseville on Saturday, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.
    Emma Hall, Sacramento Bee, 26 Jan. 2025
  • In 2009, the Saints offered their players cash incentives to injure certain players.
    Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 25 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • One mom is grieving what once was while looking to share her childhood with her kids in a new way.
    Sharisse Tracey, Parents, 17 Jan. 2025
  • The breadth of information provided to residents came from a desire to help a grieving community learn answers and find who should be held accountable for the fear gripping the region, deputies said in the interview.
    Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 17 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Relli — a former member of hip-hop collective A$AP Mob — filed a civil suit for assault, battery and emotional distress against Rocky on Aug. 10, 2022.
    Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 25 Jan. 2025
  • Removing First Amendment violations, conspiracy, deceit, false light and retaliation leaves the new complaint with allegations of defamation per se by libel and slander, intentional infliction of emotional distress and defamation per quad by libel.
    Isha Trivedi, The Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Cycle syncing isn’t likely to cause any real harm, but there are a few potential drawbacks.
    Lauren Mazzo, SELF, 28 Jan. 2025
  • Several researchers have explored the potential harms of Replika and other chatbots.
    Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 28 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Fans of football surely are both thrilled and pained at this matchup.
    Hannah Vanbiber, The Athletic, 14 Jan. 2025
  • Granted, a day of giving thanks can seem a stretch to those pained by the year’s conflicts.
    Michael Morris, TIME, 27 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • However, 2017 first-round pick Malik Hooker’s time in Indianapolis was marred by a season-ending knee and Achilles injuries leading the team to decline the safety’s fifth-year option.
    James Boyd, The Athletic, 16 Jan. 2025
  • Employers stuck the landing in 2024, finishing the year with a bounce of hiring after a summer slowdown and an autumn marred by disruption.
    Lydia DePillis, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near hurt

Cite this Entry

“Hurt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurt. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on hurt

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