wounding 1 of 2

adjective

as in damaging

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

wounding

2 of 2

verb

present participle of wound
1
as in injuring
to cause bodily damage to an arrow had wounded the animal, but the vet was able to save it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in insulting
to cause hurt feelings or deep resentment in that callous comment really wounded me

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 wounding
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, 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 Russian missiles battered Kyiv and 11 other Ukrainian regions, killing at least four people and wounding dozens as strikes hit apartments, transit and energy infrastructure. — Derek Gatopoulos, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026 The man accused of shooting and killing Philadelphia police officer Shane Seiber and wounding officer Hector Rodriguez is facing federal charges. — Ross Dimattei, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026 Two projectiles hit a vessel transiting off the United Arab Emirates early Sunday, wounding one person, a British military agency reported. — ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026 On July 17, an Iranian missile struck Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, killing three American soldiers and wounding four others. — Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2026 Deputies returned fire, wounding 30-year-old Linda Mullennix and ending the standoff that began late Thursday. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Nidal Hasan, charged with killing 13 people and wounding 32 in a November 2009 shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas, is pictured in an undated Bell County Sheriff's Office photograph. — Dan Mangan,kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wounding
  1. damaging
  2. injuring
  3. insulting
  4. fatal
  5. offending
  6. injurious
  7. outraging
  8. destructive
Adjective
  • Trump could decide that appearing powerless as Iranian attacks push up prices is more damaging than another round of military strikes.
    — Ali Vaez, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Lycopene can help protect blood vessels from the damaging effects of unstable molecules known as free radicals.
    — MD Published, Verywell Health, 17 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 league suspended Greenlaw, determining his aggressive post-game behavior violated Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1(b), which strictly prohibits the use of abusive, threatening, or insulting language or gestures toward game officials.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Jewish critics accused Mamdani of insulting victims and fueling antisemitism, while pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted a Manhattan vigil to denounce him for not doing enough to hold Israel accountable.
    — Anthony Izaguirre, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of insulting
Adjective
  • Speed cameras have been shown to reduce speeding by 31% to 82% and fatal crashes by 53% to 71%, according to the Department of Transportation.
    — Kevinisha Walker, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Kumar faces two counts of first-degree manslaughter and three counts of recklessly endangering another person in Deschutes County stemming from the fatal wreck.
    — Eric Mack , Bill Melugin, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of fatal
Verb
  • Interestingly, there is no statistically detectable difference in offending rates before college, suggesting the future fraternity members weren’t always fundamentally different in their behavior.
    — Jens Ludwig, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • What that means is that drone hunter just locked on to the offending drone.
    — Norah O'Donnell, CBS News, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of offending
Adjective
  • White House advisers have argued that his vision would be politically injurious ahead of the midterms.
    — Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Strengthening balance is critical to help older adults prevent injurious falls.
    — Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of injurious
Verb
  • The Hitlerite hordes are murdering and outraging the peaceful inhabitants of our country, having no mercy on women, children or old people.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
  • On Day 1 of the truce, and in the days since, Israel has stepped up attacks against Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, in Lebanon, outraging Iran and leading to accusations the terms had been breached.
    — Justin Fishel, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2026
Definition of outraging
Adjective
  • What differentiates this wave of sudden wealth syndrome from the dot-com era, DiFuria said, is that people are making money from a technology many consider destructive—including some of the people building it.
    — Molly A. Wallace, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
  • In one memorable scene, Mari takes to a whiteboard to explain the destructive workings of capitalism, a lengthy, potentially didactic exercise that Okamoto transforms into an unexpectedly intimate exchange.
    — Lisa Wong Macabasco, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of destructive

Browse Nearby Words

wounded
wounding
wounds
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All