injure

verb

in·​jure ˈin-jər How to pronounce injure (audio)
injured; injuring ˈin-j(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce injure (audio)

transitive verb

1
a
: to inflict bodily hurt on
b
: to impair the soundness of
injured her health
c
: to inflict material damage or loss on
2
a
: to harm, impair, or tarnish the standing of
injured his reputation
b
: to give pain to
injure a person's pride
c
: to do an injustice to : wrong
injurer noun
Choose the Right Synonym for injure

injure, harm, hurt, damage, impair, mar mean to affect injuriously.

injure implies the inflicting of anything detrimental to one's looks, comfort, health, or success.

badly injured in an accident

harm often stresses the inflicting of pain, suffering, or loss.

careful not to harm the animals

hurt implies inflicting a wound to the body or to the feelings.

hurt by their callous remarks

damage suggests injury that lowers value or impairs usefulness.

a table damaged in shipping

impair suggests a making less complete or efficient by deterioration or diminution.

years of smoking had impaired his health

mar applies to injury that spoils perfection (as of a surface) or causes disfigurement.

the text is marred by many typos

Examples of injure in a Sentence

She fell and injured herself. She fell and slightly injured her arm. Several people were badly injured in the accident.
Recent Examples on the Web The miners were evacuated above ground and no one was injured, DTEK said, adding that coal production would resume once the mines had been repaired. Andrew Carey, CNN, 22 Mar. 2024 In an early scene of the Broadway musical, which opened Thursday at the Imperial Theatre, the star stallion of a traveling circus is gravely injured. Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024 Gross, 51, was critically injured and declared brain dead this week. Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2024 The women, who were injured, were treated at a local hospital. Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 21 Mar. 2024 After designing both twins in an impressively detailed character creator, users must choose only one of them to play as moving forward, while the other is critically injured and taken away. Katcy Stephan, Variety, 21 Mar. 2024 That crash left three people injured, including one woman who suffered spinal injuries. Chris Ramirez, Journal Sentinel, 20 Mar. 2024 Under current law, servicemembers injured while on active duty are unable to sue the military. Clare Hymes, CBS News, 19 Mar. 2024 On March 17 last year, a Friday, violence erupted in South Beach amid both St. Patrick’s Day festivities and spring break partying, leaving one person dead and another injured, according to authorities. Carlos Suarez, CNN, 10 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'injure.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English enjuren, from Anglo-French *enjurer, from Late Latin injuriare, from Latin injuria injury

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2c

Time Traveler
The first known use of injure was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near injure

Cite this Entry

“Injure.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/injure. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

injure

verb
in·​jure ˈin-jər How to pronounce injure (audio)
injured; injuring ˈinj-(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce injure (audio)
1
: to do an injustice to : wrong
2
: to cause pain or harm to
injured her arm
injured his pride
3
: to cause to suffer damage or loss
a tax that injured business
houses injured by the storm

Medical Definition

injure

transitive verb
in·​jure ˈin-jər How to pronounce injure (audio)
injured; injuring ˈinj-(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce injure (audio)
1
: to inflict bodily hurt on
2
: to impair the soundness of
injure your health

Legal Definition

injure

1 of 2 transitive verb
in·​jure
injured; injuring
1
: to interfere with or violate the legally protected interests of: as
a
: to harm the physical, emotional, or mental well-being of
b
: to cause (another) to suffer from damage to, deprivation of, or interference with property or a property interest
c
: to violate the constitutionally or otherwise legally protected rights of
2
: to mar or impair the soundness or appearance of (as a building) : deface

in jure

2 of 2 adverb
in ju·​re
in-ˈju̇r-ē, -ˈyü-rā
: in right, law, or justice
Etymology

Latin

More from Merriam-Webster on injure

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