as in aching
causing or feeling bodily pain
a badly hurting finger kept her from writing neatly
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in throbbing
to feel or cause physical pain
my head hurts a bad sprain that really hurts I hurt all over
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in damaging
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 injuring
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 grieving
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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hurting
Shoko Oda, Bloomberg, 27 Apr. 2026
Then Simons left the game on a stretcher just past the hour after hurting his knee.
—Jay Harris, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026
And is Kadri hurting more than anybody has let on publicly?
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 24 Apr. 2026
Stein always recommends opening a window and wearing a mask when cleaning any area, wearing cleaning gloves, and staying alert and focused to avoid hurting yourself or others.
—Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 23 Apr. 2026
Six months into her blog, her wounds were healing faster and hurting less.
—Xitlalic Montelongo, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
Last season, Trout did not play a single game in the outfield after hurting his knee in late April.
—Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 22 Apr. 2026
Industry analysts fear that is also hurting factory workers’ ability to get to manufacturing facilities, potentially slowing production of key products set for delivery overseas – including to the United States.
—David Goldman, CNN Money, 21 Apr. 2026
My head was hurting really bad.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2026
Verb
The government is mindful of not hurting economic growth or spurring panic among consumers.
—Shoko Oda, Bloomberg, 27 Apr. 2026
Then Simons left the game on a stretcher just past the hour after hurting his knee.
—Jay Harris, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026
And is Kadri hurting more than anybody has let on publicly?
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 24 Apr. 2026
Stein always recommends opening a window and wearing a mask when cleaning any area, wearing cleaning gloves, and staying alert and focused to avoid hurting yourself or others.
—Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 23 Apr. 2026
Six months into her blog, her wounds were healing faster and hurting less.
—Xitlalic Montelongo, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
Last season, Trout did not play a single game in the outfield after hurting his knee in late April.
—Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 22 Apr. 2026
Industry analysts fear that is also hurting factory workers’ ability to get to manufacturing facilities, potentially slowing production of key products set for delivery overseas – including to the United States.
—David Goldman, CNN Money, 21 Apr. 2026
My head was hurting really bad.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hurting
Adjective
-
Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain (1997) Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain is an aching, tender slow burn shaped by absence.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The dramatic and aching second movement, according to Egarr, may have been a love letter to one of Beethoven’s romantic interests.—
Sheila Regan,
Twin Cities,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Wind gusts reached up to 110 mph, damaging homes throughout the city as the storm moved northeast.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Days of severe storms to come The shift in the weather pattern that sparked Thursday night’s storms will keep the threat level elevated for damaging wind gusts, hail and tornadoes in the central US into early next week.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Based on preliminary data from the CHP’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System, more than 110,000 crashes resulted from unsafe speeds, leading to more than 400 deaths and injuring more than 68,000 people, the agency said.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
As Sousa-Martins drove forward, another agent shot at him 13 times, injuring Sousa-Martins as well as Solomon Antonio Serrano-Esquivel, a passenger in one of the ICE vehicles who was already in federal custody.—
Lily Carey,
Baltimore Sun,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The teen's grieving family has launched an online fundraiser to help with funeral expenses.—
Shaddi Abusaid,
AJC.com,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Two siblings are grieving the loss of their parents, identified in an online post as victims of the shooting.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Every labored breath and painful cough is a reminder that their parents did everything right and relied on the immunity of those around them.—
Sarah Marsicek,
The Orlando Sentinel,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The Bruins’ have suffered more dramatically painful losses on home ice in recent memory.—
Stephen Conroy,
Hartford Courant,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Ancient lava fields can be seen as dark lunar maria marring the silvery lunar surface, which themselves are threaded with bright streaks of reflective debris strewn across the surface by violent asteroid strikes.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The demoralizing graffiti marring the main entrance to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 360 Lenox Ave.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Drone debris also fell on a roof of a residential building in the city of Samara, wounding a number of people, Fedorishchev said.—
Hanna Arhirova,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Local and federal law enforcement agencies responded to the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge, Thursday, after gunfire broke out inside the shopping center's food court, killing at least one person and wounding several more.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Business owners who knew her are mourning her loss.—
Alexa Herrera,
CBS News,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Giovanni's father has since shared several posts on Facebook mourning both Giovanni and Callan.—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
PEOPLE,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hurting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurting. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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