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Harmful synonyms

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hurtful
Damaging or harmful:
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  1. Damaging or harmful:
  2. Causing hurt; specif., wounding the feelings
  3. Causing pain or suffering, especially of a psychological nature.
toxic
Extremely risky or harmful, as a debt for which the borrower is in default and the collateral has lost so much value that its sale cannot cover the amount of the loan.
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  1. Extremely risky or harmful, as a debt for which the borrower is in default and the collateral has lost so much value that its sale cannot cover the amount of the loan.
  2. Of, relating to, or caused by a toxin or other poison:
  3. Capable of causing injury or death, especially by chemical means; poisonous.
bad
Being so far behind in repayment as to be considered a loss:
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  1. Being so far behind in repayment as to be considered a loss:
  2. Being in poor health or in pain:
  3. Being in poor condition; diseased:
injurious
Causing or tending to cause injury; harmful:
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  1. Causing or tending to cause injury; harmful:
  2. Offensive or insulting; hurtful:
  3. Injuring or likely to cause injury; harmful
detrimental
Causing damage or harm; injurious.
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  1. Causing damage or harm; injurious.
  2. Causing detriment; harmful
noxious
Harmful to the mind or morals; corrupting:
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  1. Harmful to the mind or morals; corrupting:
  2. Morally injurious; corrupting; unwholesome
  3. Harmful to living things; injurious to health:
evil
Bad or blameworthy by report; infamous:
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  1. Bad or blameworthy by report; infamous:
  2. Morally bad or wrong; wicked:
  3. Characterized by or indicating future misfortune; ominous:
mischievous
Causing harm, injury, or damage:
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  1. Causing harm, injury, or damage:
  2. Troublesome; irritating:
  3. Troublesome, cheeky, badly behaved.
ruinous
Causing ruin; destructive, calamitous
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  1. Causing ruin; destructive, calamitous
  2. Bringing or tending to bring ruin; very destructive or harmful; disastrous
  3. Causing or apt to cause ruin; destructive:
malefic
Having or exerting a malignant influence.
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  1. Having or exerting a malignant influence.
  2. Malicious or harmful.
  3. Causing disaster; harmful; evil
internecine
Mutually destructive; ruinous or fatal to both sides.
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  1. Mutually destructive; ruinous or fatal to both sides.
  2. (Now Rare) Full of slaughter or destruction
  3. Of or relating to struggle within a nation, organization, or group.
adverse
Moving in an opposite or opposing direction:
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  1. Moving in an opposite or opposing direction:
  2. Acting or serving to oppose; antagonistic:
  3. Contrary to one's interests or welfare; harmful or unfavorable:
inimical
In opposition; adverse; unfavorable
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  1. In opposition; adverse; unfavorable
  2. Like an enemy; hostile; unfriendly
  3. Injurious or harmful in effect; adverse:
sinister
Wicked, evil, or dishonest, esp. in some dark, mysterious way
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  1. Wicked, evil, or dishonest, esp. in some dark, mysterious way
  2. Threatening harm, evil, or misfortune; ominous; portentous
  3. Causing or intending harm or evil; wicked:
subversive
Intending or intended to subvert an established order, especially to undermine or overthrow an established government:
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  1. Intending or intended to subvert an established order, especially to undermine or overthrow an established government:
incendiary
Intentionally started or set:
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  1. Intentionally started or set:
  2. Tending to arouse strong emotion or conflict; inflammatory:
  3. Causing or designed to cause fires, as certain substances, bombs, etc.
virulent
Able to overcome the natural defenses of the host; highly infectious
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  1. Able to overcome the natural defenses of the host; highly infectious
  2. (Med.) Violent and rapid in its course; highly malignant
  3. Characterized by, causing, or promoting the rapid onset of severe illness. Used of a disease or toxin.
calamitous
Concerning or involving calamity, disastrous.
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  1. Concerning or involving calamity, disastrous.
  2. Causing or bringing calamity
  3. Causing or involving calamity; disastrous.
cataclysmic
Of or pertaining to a cataclysm; causing great destruction or upheaval; catastrophic.
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  1. Of or pertaining to a cataclysm; causing great destruction or upheaval; catastrophic.
baleful
Portending evil; ominous:
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  1. Portending evil; ominous:
  2. Miserable, wretched, distressed, suffering.
  3. Harmful or threatening harm or evil; ominous; deadly
nocuous
Harmful; poisonous; noxious
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  1. Harmful; poisonous; noxious
  2. Likely to cause harm or damage
consumptive
Consuming or tending to consume.
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  1. Consuming or tending to consume.
  2. Having a tendency to consume; dissipating; destructive; wasteful.
  3. Consuming or tending to consume in a wasteful or destructive way
painful
Marked by or requiring great care and diligence:
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  1. Marked by or requiring great care and diligence:
  2. Causing mental anguish or suffering:
  3. Full of or giving pain:
malicious
(Law) Done with malice.
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  1. (Law) Done with malice.
  2. Having, showing, or caused by malice; spiteful; intentionally mischievous or harmful
  3. Having the nature of or resulting from malice; deliberately harmful; spiteful:
malignant
Having or showing ill will; malicious:
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  1. Having or showing ill will; malicious:
  2. Very harmful, dangerous, or virulent
  3. Causing or likely to cause death
sinful
(Informal) Extremely pleasing to the senses; sensuously enjoyable:
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  1. (Informal) Extremely pleasing to the senses; sensuously enjoyable:
  2. Marked by or full of sin; wicked:
pernicious
Causing great injury, destruction, or ruin; fatal; deadly
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  1. Causing great injury, destruction, or ruin; fatal; deadly
  2. (Rare) Wicked; evil
  3. Tending to cause death or serious injury; deadly:
baneful
Causing harm, ruin, or death; harmful.
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  1. Causing harm, ruin, or death; harmful.
  2. Portending harm; ominous.
unwholesome
Not sound; diseased; tainted; impaired; defective.
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  1. Not sound; diseased; tainted; impaired; defective.
  2. Not conducive to morality; morally harmful:
  3. Not conducive to good health; unhealthy:
pestilential
Like or constituting a pestilence; widespread and deadly
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  1. Like or constituting a pestilence; widespread and deadly
  2. Of, causing, or likely to cause pestilence or infection
  3. Pernicious; dangerous; harmful
pestiferous
Bringing or carrying disease
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  1. Bringing or carrying disease
  2. (Informal) Annoying; mischievous; bothersome
  3. Morally evil or deadly; pernicious.
deleterious
Harmful to health or well-being; injurious
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  1. Harmful to health or well-being; injurious
  2. Having a harmful effect; injurious:
  3. Harmful often in a subtle or unexpected way (as for example deleterious effects, deleterious to health).
annihilative
Serving to annihilate; destructive.
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  1. Serving to annihilate; destructive.
  2. Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
  3. Capable of causing utter destruction or serving to destroy utterly:
dire
Calling for quick action; urgent
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  1. Calling for quick action; urgent
  2. Warning of or having dreadful or terrible consequences; calamitous:
  3. Arousing terror or causing extreme distress; dreadful; terrible
morbific
Causing or leading to disease
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  1. Causing or leading to disease
prejudicial
Showing or full of prejudice; biased:
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  1. Showing or full of prejudice; biased:
  2. Causing prejudice, or harm; injurious; detrimental
  3. Causing or tending to cause harm, especially to a legal case:
corrupt
Morally unsound or debased; perverted; evil; depraved
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  1. Morally unsound or debased; perverted; evil; depraved
  2. (Obs.) Changed from a sound condition to an unsound one; spoiled; contaminated; rotten
  3. Containing errors or alterations, especially ones that prevent proper understanding or use:
vicious
Extremely violent or injurious; cruel:
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  1. Extremely violent or injurious; cruel:
  2. Severe, powerful, or intense; fierce:
  3. Having bad or harmful habits; unruly
insidious
Intended to entrap; treacherous:
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  1. Intended to entrap; treacherous:
  2. Beguiling but harmful; alluring:
  3. Working harm in a slow or subtle manner; hence, more dangerous than seems evident
treacherous
Giving a false appearance of safety or reliability; untrustworthy or insecure
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  1. Giving a false appearance of safety or reliability; untrustworthy or insecure
  2. Characterized by unforeseen or hidden hazards; dangerous or deceptive:
  3. Guilty of or characterized by betrayal of confidence or trust; perfidious.
catastrophic
Of, relating to, or involving a catastrophe.
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  1. Of, relating to, or involving a catastrophe.
  2. Disastrous; ruinous.
  3. Involving or resulting in substantial, often ruinous medical expense:
disastrous
Extremely bad; terrible:
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  1. Extremely bad; terrible:
  2. Of the nature of a disaster; causing great harm, damage, etc.; calamitous
  3. Accompanied by or causing distress or disaster; calamitous.
wild
Eager or enthusiastic, as with desire or anticipation
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  1. Eager or enthusiastic, as with desire or anticipation
  2. Full of, marked by, or suggestive of strong, uncontrolled emotion:
  3. Based on little or no evidence or probability; unfounded:
murderous
Capable or guilty of, or intending, murder
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  1. Capable or guilty of, or intending, murder
  2. (Informal) Very difficult, disagreeable, dangerous, trying, etc.
  3. (Informal) Capable of devastating or overwhelming:
destructive
Merely negative; not helpful
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  1. Merely negative; not helpful
  2. Causing or producing destruction; destroying
  3. Tending or likely to cause destruction
unhealthy
Dangerous or risky
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  1. Dangerous or risky
  2. Of a risky nature; dangerous:
  3. Harmful to character or morality; corruptive:
habit-forming
Capable of leading to physiological or psychological dependence:
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  1. Capable of leading to physiological or psychological dependence:
  2. Addictive; likely to cause dependence or recurrence of use.
  3. Tending to become habitual:
killing
(Informal) Very funny or comical
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  1. (Informal) Very funny or comical
  2. Thoroughly exhausting:
  3. Causing or apt to cause death; fatal:
fatal
Concerning or determining one's fate:
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  1. Concerning or determining one's fate:
  2. Causing ruin or destruction; disastrous:
  3. Deadly, causing actual or metaphorical death; causing the undoing of a claim, assertion, or legal document (“a fatal flaw in the pleading”). See also fatal defect. Deadly, causing actual or metaphorical death; causing the undoing of a claim, assertion, or legal document (“a fatal flaw in the pleading”). See also fatal defect.
mortal
Of a human being considered as a being who must eventually die
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  1. Of a human being considered as a being who must eventually die
  2. Liable or subject to death; not immortal:
  3. Conceivable; imaginable:
serious
Giving cause for concern; dangerous
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  1. Giving cause for concern; dangerous
  2. Deeply interested or involved:
  3. Not easily answered or solved:
costly
Of high cost; expensive.
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  1. Of high cost; expensive.
  2. At the cost of great effort, damage, sacrifice, etc.
  3. Costing much; expensive; dear
sore
Causing sadness, grief, misery, or distress
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  1. Causing sadness, grief, misery, or distress
  2. (Informal) Angry; offended; feeling hurt or resentful
  3. Feeling physical pain, as from wounds, bruises, etc.
extirpative
Of, relating to, or pertaining to an extirpation.
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  1. Of, relating to, or pertaining to an extirpation.
fell
Fierce; terrible; cruel
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  1. Fierce; terrible; cruel
  2. Of an inhumanly cruel nature; fierce:
  3. Dire; sinister:
diabolic
Of the Devil or devils
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  1. Of the Devil or devils
  2. Very wicked or cruel
  3. Extremely or ingeniously difficult, vexatious, etc.; fiendish
brutal
Like a brute; cruel and unfeeling; savage, violent, ruthless, etc.
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  1. Like a brute; cruel and unfeeling; savage, violent, ruthless, etc.
  2. Disagreeably precise or penetrating:
  3. Plain and direct, although distressing in effect
unhealthful
Causing or conducive to poor health; unwholesome.
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  1. Causing or conducive to poor health; unwholesome.
satanic
Of, characteristic of, or like Satan; devilish; infernal; diabolic
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  1. Of, characteristic of, or like Satan; devilish; infernal; diabolic
  2. Profoundly cruel or evil; fiendish.
demoniac
Like or characteristic of a demon; fiendish; frenzied
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  1. Like or characteristic of a demon; fiendish; frenzied
  2. Possessed or influenced by a demon
  3. Possessed, produced, or influenced by a demon:
ill
Resulting from or suggestive of evil intentions:
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  1. Resulting from or suggestive of evil intentions:
  2. Morally bad or wrong; evil
  3. Not measuring up to recognized standards of excellence, as of behavior or conduct:
grievous
Showing or characterized by grief
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  1. Showing or characterized by grief
  2. Causing suffering; hard to bear; severe
  3. Serious or dire; grave:
lethal
Causing or capable of causing death; fatal or deadly
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  1. Causing or capable of causing death; fatal or deadly
  2. Extremely harmful; devastating:
malevolent
Having a harmful influence:
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  1. Having a harmful influence:
  2. Wishing evil or harm to others; having or showing ill will; malicious
mephitic
Bad-smelling
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  1. Bad-smelling
  2. Poisonous; noxious
  3. Of or caused by mephitis
venomous
Harmful or destructive:
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  1. Harmful or destructive:
  2. (Zool.) Having a poison gland or glands and able to inflict a poisonous wound by biting or stinging
  3. Full of or containing venom:
cruel
Disposed to inflict pain or suffering:
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  1. Disposed to inflict pain or suffering:
  2. Causing, or of a kind to cause, pain, distress, etc.
  3. Deliberately seeking to inflict pain and suffering; enjoying others' suffering; without mercy or pity
unfortunate
Not suitable or successful
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  1. Not suitable or successful
  2. Characterized by, bringing, or causing misfortune:
  3. Bringing, or coming by, bad luck; unfavorable
disadvantageous
Not advantageous.
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  1. Not advantageous.
  2. Detrimental; unfavorable.
  3. Causing or characterized by disadvantage; unfavorable; adverse; detrimental
felonious
(Law) Having the nature of, relating to, or concerning a felony:
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  1. (Law) Having the nature of, relating to, or concerning a felony:
  2. (Law) Of, like, or constituting a felony
  3. (Archaic) Evil; wicked.
aching
Full of painful yearning or sorrow:
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  1. Full of painful yearning or sorrow:
  2. That aches; continuously painful. See ache
  3. Dully painful.
objectionable
Open to objection
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  1. Open to objection
  2. Deserving disapproval; offensive:
  3. Offensive and arousing disapproval; worthy of objection.
fiendish
Of or like a fiend; devilish; inhumanly wicked or cruel
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  1. Of or like a fiend; devilish; inhumanly wicked or cruel
  2. Sinister; evil; conniving; in the manner of a fiend.
  3. Extremely bad, disagreeable, or difficult:
maleficent
Harmful or malicious in intent or effect.
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  1. Harmful or malicious in intent or effect.
  2. Harmful; hurtful; evil
unlucky
Bringing ill luck
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  1. Bringing ill luck
  2. Resulting or likely to result in misfortune; inauspicious:
  3. Not lucky; having, attended with, bringing, or involving bad luck; unfortunate, ill-fated, or ill-omened
malign
Showing ill will; malicious
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  1. Showing ill will; malicious
  2. Intending or threatening harm or ill will; malevolent:
  3. Evil or harmful in nature or effect:
sinistrous
(Archaic) On the left side; inclined to the left; sinistral.
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  1. (Archaic) On the left side; inclined to the left; sinistral.
  2. Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
  3. (Archaic) wrong; absurd; perverse
noisome
Offensive to the point of arousing disgust; foul:
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  1. Offensive to the point of arousing disgust; foul:
  2. Harmful or dangerous:
  3. Having a bad odor; foul-smelling
devilish
Malicious; evil.
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  1. Malicious; evil.
  2. Mischievous, teasing, or annoying.
  3. (Informal) Extremely bad
corrosive
Corroding or causing corrosion
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  1. Corroding or causing corrosion
  2. Destroying or undermining something gradually
  3. Eating away; having the power of gradually wearing, hanging, or destroying the texture or substance of a body; as the corrosive action of an acid.
bad
Full of or exhibiting faults or errors:
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  1. Full of or exhibiting faults or errors:
  2. Immoral or evil.
  3. Being in poor condition; diseased:
deleterious
Having a harmful effect; injurious:
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  1. Having a harmful effect; injurious:
  2. Harmful to health or well-being; injurious
  3. Harmful often in a subtle or unexpected way (as for example deleterious effects, deleterious to health).
detrimental
Causing detriment; harmful
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  1. Causing detriment; harmful
  2. Causing damage or harm; injurious.
evil
Characterized by anger or spite; malicious:
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  1. Characterized by anger or spite; malicious:
  2. Bad or blameworthy by report; infamous:
  3. Morally bad or wrong; wicked:
hurtful
Damaging or harmful:
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  1. Damaging or harmful:
  2. Tending to hurt someone's feelings; insulting.
  3. Causing pain or suffering, especially of a psychological nature.
ill
Causing pain, hardship, etc.; adverse
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  1. Causing pain, hardship, etc.; adverse
  2. Resulting from or suggestive of evil intentions:
  3. Morally bad or wrong; evil
injurious
Offensive or insulting; hurtful:
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  1. Offensive or insulting; hurtful:
  2. Causing or tending to cause injury; harmful:
  3. Injuring or likely to cause injury; harmful
mischievous
Troublesome; irritating:
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  1. Troublesome; irritating:
  2. Playful in a naughty or teasing way.
  3. Troublesome, cheeky, badly behaved.
Find another word for harmful. In this page you can discover 118 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for harmful, like: hurtful, toxic, wounding, bad, injurious, detrimental, noxious, evil, mischievous, ruinous and malefic.

Sentence Examples

  • The Egyptian rule proved harmful to the country.

  • The ordinary pleasures of life were for them not merely negligible but positively harmful inasmuch as they interrupted the operation of the will.

  • And most of them are harmful, especially the women.

  • Though harmful to the economic condition of the island, it left agriculture comparatively unaffected, because the insolvent institutions had never fulfilled the objects of their foundation.

  • An institution upholding honor, the source of emulation, is one similar to the Legion d'honneur of the great Emperor Napoleon, not harmful but helpful to the success of the service, but not a class or court privilege.

More sentences →

Words that mention harmful in the Dictionary

Words near harmful in the Thesaurus