HURTING Synonyms: 216 Similar and Opposite Words

hurting 1 of 2

adjective

as in aching

causing or feeling bodily pain a badly hurting finger kept her from writing neatly

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hurting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of hurt

as in throbbing

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

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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

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as in injuring

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

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as in grieving

to feel deep sadness or mental pain I know you must be hurting from the cruel words they said

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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 hurting

Verb

Can the Cowboys take advantage of the hurting Eagles, or will Philadelphia rally behind their backups and get the victory? — Outkick, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026 Chenal was put on a spine board and taken off the field on a cart after hurting his neck. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026 This is the kind of smell that everyone around her immediately notices but says nothing about for fear of hurting her. — Eric Thomas, Sun Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026 While there are multiple reasons for the state’s higher relative wages, economist Chris Thornberg believes that housing costs are far and away the largest factor, hurting many California businesses. — Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026 This is the kind of smell that everyone around her immediately notices but says nothing about it for fear of hurting her. — R. Eric Thomas, Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2026 View this post on Instagram Rodriguez is now accusing Salazar of hurting the business and siccing her influencer supporters on Cao. — Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2026 Things already had been tough internally amid the engagement challenges hurting Netflix’s stock as high-profile series had not performed to expectations and most returning shows have seen viewership declines season-to-season over the past year. — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026 The nationwide high school protest movement — over deteriorating school buildings, teacher shortages, and inequalities hurting schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods — has energized young voters, who may prove key to the election outcome. — ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hurting

Adjective

The homestretch of the drama, however, takes the story in a chilling direction, packing an aching quantity of feeling into a single glance at a security camera as someone climbs into a car and leaves the compound, never to be heard from again.

— Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 26 May 2026
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

Definition of aching

Verb

It’s also sparked criticism, with some worried that strangers are capitalizing on gravesites without notifying descendants and risking damaging the sites.

— Kimberlee Kruesi, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
In Hollywood, city officials may open beach parking garages so residents can relocate their vehicles away from damaging saltwater flooding.

— Ted Scouten, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of damaging

Verb

During a livestreamed service at a Raytown church Sunday, a truck rammed through the front doors, seriously injuring a member of the congregation.

— Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2026
At 12,600 feet elevation, the climber fell through a snow bridge, severely injuring his leg.

— Tim Fang, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of injuring

Verb

The Trib is withholding Nick’s full name to avoid marring his reputation in the eyes of future employers or others who might run a search on him.

— Kate Payne, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
The latter track takes overt inspiration from Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film Marie Antoinette, as Jepsen beckons her love to engage in life’s vices with her, like marring bedsheets with fruit stains and dashing nude through the garden.

— Jaeden Pinder, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of marring

Verb

Russia's aerial attacks hit 12 regions of Ukraine overnight, killing at least four people and wounding scores of others, including five children, Zelenskyy said on social media Thursday.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
In 2016, gunmen ambushed police in a series of attacks in Karak, including at a Crusader castle popular with tourists, killing 10 people, including seven officers, and wounding dozens.

— Greg Norman-Diamond, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of wounding

Verb

This memory of the body’s muscle enacted in the gesture of cutting, moved from anger to mindfulness to mourning for all that was lost in that claiming of art.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026
Yet as black became a defining color of modern fashion, most famously through Gabrielle Chanel’s little black dress of 1926, its association with mourning gradually loosened.

— Livia Caligor, Vogue, 21 Oct. 2026