harm 1 of 2

noun

ˈhärm How to pronounce harm (audio)
Definition of harmnext
as in damage
something that causes loss or pain you were lucky to survive the fire without harm no harm in trying

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

harm

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to damage
to cause bodily damage to though she wasn't harmed by the flying glass, she slipped and fell on a piece and cut her hand

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to injure
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of the company's reputation has been harmed by allegations of crooked accounting

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word harm distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of harm are damage, hurt, impair, injure, and mar. While all these words mean "to affect injuriously," harm often stresses the inflicting of pain, suffering, or loss.

careful not to harm the animals

When might damage be a better fit than harm?

While the synonyms damage and harm are close in meaning, damage suggests injury that lowers value or impairs usefulness.

a table damaged in shipping

When is it sensible to use hurt instead of harm?

The words hurt and harm are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, hurt implies inflicting a wound to the body or to the feelings.

hurt by their callous remarks

When would impair be a good substitute for harm?

The meanings of impair and harm largely overlap; however, impair suggests a making less complete or efficient by deterioration or diminution.

years of smoking had impaired his health

In what contexts can injure take the place of harm?

The words injure and harm can be used in similar contexts, but injure implies the inflicting of anything detrimental to one's looks, comfort, health, or success.

badly injured in an accident

When can mar be used instead of harm?

While in some cases nearly identical to harm, 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 harm
Noun
During a Monday New York City Council hearing, representatives from OpenAI, Google, Meta and Anthropic were asked to assure under oath whether AI agents will always comply with safety guardrails to prevent catastrophic harm. — Staff, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026 The CIDs being sent to AI companies are dozens of questions long, according to the official, encompassing what the companies have said about the dangers of their products and other questions around consumer harm. — Ashley Gold, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Verb
Along those lines, Crouse observed that one group or another was inevitably going to be harmed by the NCAA’s decision. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 5 Oct. 2026 Religion has harmed many; people fear proselytizing; soul language can sound fuzzy or exclusionary; literary culture prizes the secular and intellectual. — Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for harm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harm
  1. damage
  2. injure
  3. mar
  4. injury
  5. hurt
  6. wound
Noun
  • The region's head said earlier Friday that there had been an attack on the town, but that there had been no damage.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Darren Bailey, the Republican nominee for governor, criticized Pritzker for taking too long to respond to the storms, which did considerable damage to several areas, including the southern suburbs.
    — Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of damage
Verb
  • Monday's attack came a day after a Russian drone struck the village of Pisochyn in the Kharkiv district, killing three people and injuring nine others, including children, according to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The script was about a last draft-pick NFL player who gets injured on his very first play and returns home to Alaska to become a fisherman.
    — Aaron Couch, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of injure
Verb
  • The designer had felt the atmosphere shift after her disastrous outdoor cruise collection in Marseille in May 2024, which was marred by a mini-storm.
    — Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2026
  • International observers have described previous elections in Serbia as marred by multiple irregularities and violence.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of mar
Noun
  • How Doctors Diagnose and Treat It Health care providers use the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to classify trypanophobia as a specific phobia of the blood-injection-injury type.
    — Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 8 Oct. 2026
  • But with nearly half of the roster sidelined because of injuries or resting, Adou Thiero at least tried to inject some life into a sleepy preseason back-to-back.
    — Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of injury
Verb
  • One woman writing for Hers described spending about an hour working up the courage for her first weight-loss shot, only to find the thin needle barely hurt.
    — Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Higher interest rates definitely hurt the commercial real estate sector from 2022 through 2024, as higher costs for borrowing lowered the value of assets.
    — Diana Olick, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of hurt
Verb
  • The governor of the Kaluga region, Vladislav Shapsha, said Friday that nine people had been wounded by drone attacks on the region.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Suffice it to say the mystery bullets that landed in Rate Field’s bleachers in 2023 and wounded two women definitely aren’t relevant to this feel-good story but are worth mentioning to remind us how much the Sox narrative has changed.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of wound

Browse Nearby Words

harlotry
harm
harm's way
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Cite this Entry

“Harm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harm. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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