as in harmful
causing or capable of causing harm
the damaging effects of the sun on unprotected skin
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in injuring
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
the explosion in the sewers damaged the entire city's water supply
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in wounding
to cause bodily damage to
his knee was badly damaged in the accident, and he walked with a limp for months
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of damaging
Mary Gilbert, CNN, 14 Mar. 2025
AccuWeather forecasters believe that will be the case again this year, with the highest risk of damaging storms and tornadoes in the Mississippi and Tennessee valleys.
—Alix Martichoux, The Hill, 14 Mar. 2025
Model corruption achieves its damaging effects when someone alters the model's core parameters.
—Cristian Randieri, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
The cyclone was already bringing heavy rainfall to coastal areas on Saturday, along with damaging winds and storm surges.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for damaging
Adjective
In addition to the tornado threat, thunderstorms will once again deliver damaging wind gusts and hail through the evening and into early Sunday morning.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN, 14 Mar. 2025
AccuWeather forecasters believe that will be the case again this year, with the highest risk of damaging storms and tornadoes in the Mississippi and Tennessee valleys.
—Alix Martichoux, The Hill, 14 Mar. 2025
Model corruption achieves its damaging effects when someone alters the model's core parameters.
—Cristian Randieri, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
The cyclone was already bringing heavy rainfall to coastal areas on Saturday, along with damaging winds and storm surges.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for damaging
Recent Examples of Synonyms for damaging
Adjective
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Test results from Consumer Reports found potentially harmful chemicals in roughly half of the formula products.—
Geoff Harris,
Baltimore Sun,
20 Mar. 2025
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This can be extremely harmful to the lungs of at-risk people, including children whose lungs are still developing, pregnant women, older adults and those with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or diabetes, according to the American Lung Assn.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Meanwhile, a car plowed through a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, on Friday night, killing five people and injuring some 200 others.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
23 Dec. 2024
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The anti-immigrant rhetoric has been so acute that an anti-immigration far-right extremist in Germany — ironically himself an immigrant — just attacked a holiday market, killing at least five and injuring hundreds.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
23 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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In addition to losing the benefits for our kids, this loss of funds is a huge blow to community farmers and ranchers and is detrimental to school meal programs struggling to manage rising food and labor costs.—
Khaleda Rahman,
Newsweek,
13 Mar. 2025
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Musk’s Twitter purchase was a bad deal financially and has been detrimental to X’s bottom line, but his ownership of the platform helped boost his cultural and political relevance by keeping him in the center of the news cycle.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Part of this season’s focus has been on building his partnership with Murphy, whose primary attacking role is to find Isak in dangerous areas, and encouraging his team-mates to involve the striker whenever possible.—
Chris Waugh,
The Athletic,
14 Mar. 2025
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Paved highways meant dangerous going for horse and rider, and her only mishap of the trip would come at Portland, when Goldie slipped on rain-slick pavement and fell on his rider and broke her leg, resulting in a delay of several weeks.—
Ben East,
Outdoor Life,
14 Mar. 2025
Verb
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For example, Netflix uses it to deliver seamless streaming to millions, scaling efficiently without compromising speed.—
Jyothish R,
Forbes,
27 Dec. 2024
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Now, as Teddy barrels ahead with a Senate campaign, they are targeted by an anonymous leaker showing them in compromising positions.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
26 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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When ingested or inhaled, these microplastics can release these chemicals into the body, potentially leading to adverse health effects.—
Sheah Rarback,
Miami Herald,
13 Mar. 2025
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Research shows that supplementing with 0.14 to 0.36 grams per pound of body weight for up to five years is associated with minimal adverse effects and health risks.—
Melissa Nieves,
Verywell Health,
13 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The fate of the company remains uncertain, and efforts to preserve its American roots could end up harming workers in Pennsylvania in the long run.—
Alan Rappeport,
New York Times,
3 Jan. 2025
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Even in the absence of barriers, a self-driving car would’ve stopped short of harming the crowd assembled in New Orleans on Wednesday, Missy Cummings, a professor of systems engineering and director of Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center at George Mason University, told ABC News.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
2 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Jayson Tatum kept the Celtics in the game most of the night with 33 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, but Brown had one of his worst games of the year with just 10 points.—
Jay King,
The Athletic,
13 Mar. 2025
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So first, the argument for not giving President Trump and Elon Musk more power to do more bad, to move money around at will, to shut down more organizations and to give it our vote.—
Mansee Khurana,
NPR,
12 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Damaging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/damaging. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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