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hurt 1 of 3

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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
Trump's most expansive tariffs to date and larger than most experts expected ‒ could further hurt a weakening economy, send the stock market plummeting and even lead to a recession. Joey Garrison, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2025 However, these scandals do not appear to have hurt Donaldson, who has continued to enjoy significant growth in spite of the spate of negative headlines. Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025
Noun
March 27 is an opportunity to dissolve barriers between the heart and the soul, and to soften the edges where hurt has hardened us. Colin Bedell, Them, 20 Mar. 2025 The stock market is in a world of hurt, giving up all of its post-election gains due to worries about tariffs, trade wars, and the threat of recession. Moneyshow, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hurt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hurt
Verb
  • Behind every aching word, Konanki’s mother’s weeping did not cease.
    Alaa Elassar, CNN, 24 Mar. 2025
  • As Frank speaks, Rick is aching to satisfy his desire for revenge in what Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) correctly identifies as a ridiculous, Princess Bride-style plot to kill the man who killed his father.
    Judy Berman, TIME, 17 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Their son and daughter-in-law, Cameron Bott, 35, and his wife, Diana, 36, whose nearby home was damaged in the tornado, initiated a discussion about starting a GoFundMe to offset potential insurance shortfalls in rebuilding the gas station.
    Tammy Ljungblad, Kansas City Star, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed, including entire apartment complexes and trailer parks that were swept away by flash floods.
    Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • At least 31 people were killed, 27 others were injured and some 70 homes were burned before security forces arrived and repelled the gangs, killing at least 23 gunmen, the mission said.
    DÁNICA COTO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Arkansas Online, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Two officers were also taken to the hospital but were not injured, sources said.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • These were unimaginable choices for grieving parents to make in such a short time.
    Danielle J. Brown, Baltimore Sun, 31 Mar. 2025
  • That’s the message this grieving man brought to the world figure skating stage.
    Steve Buckley, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • At the Santa Monica test location after the rains, the level of beryllium — a metal that is toxic to fish and corals and causes respiratory distress in humans — was more than 10 times the maximum limit allowed.
    Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2025
  • The result: Some doctors and hospitals have held back on treatments, waiting for the fetal heartbeat to stop or for patients to wind up in undeniable distress.
    Kavitha Surana, ProPublica, 27 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Persistent exposure to air pollution can cause permanent harm, creating health problems for children and setting them up to become sicker adults.
    Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Is there really harm in encouraging our kids to share their passions online?
    Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 9 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • As someone who has also been a lifelong animal lover, this pains me.
    U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Your Next Read JuJu Watkins’ absence from March Madness hurts USC and pains women’s basketball College hoops business is booming despite quiet tourneys.
    Chantel Jennings, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • The transition has been marred by ongoing disagreements, political tensions, infighting and what security experts describe as a lack of a cohesive strategy for fighting the gangs.
    Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 24 Mar. 2025
  • What Happened On March 8? The SAT, a cornerstone of college admissions, was marred by technical and administrative issues on test day.
    Scott White, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Hurt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurt. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on hurt

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