HURT Synonyms: 294 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

hurt 1 of 3

verb

ˈhərt

Definition of hurt

as in to ache

to feel or cause physical pain my head hurts a bad sprain that really hurts I hurt all over

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in to damage

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

as in to injure

to cause bodily damage to the common belief that reading in poor light hurts your eyes

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to grieve

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

hurt

2 of 3

adjective

as in injured

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

hurt

3 of 3

noun

as in distress

a state of great suffering of body or mind in her hurt she said a lot of things to her boyfriend that she didn't really mean

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in harm

something that causes loss or pain a totally baseless accusation that caused lasting hurt to his reputation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

For another, relying on the Internet for company can hurt us in the long term. — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026 This classification could hurt Jaafar Jackson’s chances of landing a best actor nomination for his first film role. — Paul Grein, Billboard, 20 Oct. 2026

Adjective

They’re all better served by the heartfelt and humorous beats, rather than the heartfelt and hurt ones. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 9 July 2026 Many of the hurt kids were at home when tear gas drifted in from streets where federal agents had deployed the chemical agent against crowds of protesters. — Lisa Song, ProPublica, 27 May 2026

Noun

But your grandmother was adamantly more than her hurts, more than her fear. — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026 This year, spooky season might feel legitimately haunted by the ghosts of hurts, betrayals, and resentments past. — Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hurt

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hurt

Verb

The majority of patients don't have symptoms, but about one in five will experience symptoms two to six days after being bitten, including fever, headaches, body aches, joint pain, diarrhea, vomiting or a rash.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
Moments of mutual support and understanding, of belly-aching laughter and silliness, of care and deep love.

— Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of ache

Verb

Rioters burned close to 6,000 vehicles and damaged over 1,000 buildings.

— Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 22 Oct. 2026
What that young girl saw damaged and scarred her heart; one wonders why the happy adults around her could not see the ugliness inherent in killing a fellow human being.

— Dr. Michael Good, Hartford Courant, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of damage

Verb

Also according to the emergency service, consecutive Russian strikes on a shopping center in Kharkiv injured four people late on Saturday, including three rescue workers.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
Patrick, who was injured when his cleats became tangled in TV cords, had to first seek redress through a grievance procedure before being able to pursue a lawsuit.

— Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of injure

Noun

The rise of self-harm influencers—people for whom demonstrating their distress online has become a source of income and validation—is a terrifying new development.

— Gavin Francis, The New York Review of Books, 24 Oct. 2026
CoreWeave, the leader of the pack, has seen spreads on its CDS widen past 11%, generally viewed as a distress level, as investors have to pay up for protection against default.

— Isabel O'Brien, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of distress

Noun

Social media giant Meta was hit with a class action lawsuit in Australia on behalf of children and teenagers who allegedly suffered harm over the addictive design features and exposure to harmful content on its platforms Facebook and Instagram.

— Chad de Guzman, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
Ryan McMonigle, a spokesman for Kansas City’s public works department, told The Star that LAZ Parking, or Park KC staff more generally, issue tickets for reasons including social harm, unpaid parking and license plate violations.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of harm

Verb

One day, at a hardware store near Flagg Mountain, he was pained to see bundles of fatwood—pine heartwood—being sold as kindling.

— M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
As someone who deals with an immense amount of scrutiny regarding his own appearance, Davidson is pained to see the vitriol another ex, Grande, has been subjected to of late.

— Marlow Stern, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of pain

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Style

“Hurt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurt. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of hurt

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noun

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