as in detrimental
causing or capable of causing harm
DDT has been proven to be extremely harmful to the environment
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of harmful
Combined with sensational media coverage and advocacy by special interests, such studies have led to ineffective or even harmful national health policies.
—
Stephen B. Soumerai, STAT, 7 Jan. 2026
Some fruit pits and seeds, like those in apples and pears, contain traces of cyanide, which is harmful to birds.
—Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 6 Jan. 2026
Extreme or highly restrictive diets often cause nutrient deficiencies, metabolic slowdown, and other harmful side effects.
—Jillian Kubala, Health, 6 Jan. 2026
Further increasing spending and raising taxes now would be a harmful mistake and unnecessary to deliver the services New Yorkers need.
—Andrew Rein, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for harmful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harmful
Adjective
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Rat poison, in Saban-speak, is what is detrimental to teams that start believing their hype and losing focus on the controllables like working as hard as possible every day.—
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So did the first-round bye really prove to be that detrimental?—
Adjective
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Davis’ injury is the latest — and potentially most damaging — blow in a Mavericks season defined by attrition.—
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After a damaging winter storm of rain, wind, and flooding, staff at Mountain High Resorts in Wrightwood have been working around the clock to prepare for reopening day on Saturday.—
Adjective
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Pipes and sewers can be very dangerous for pets and wildlife and Roto-Rooter, with specialized equipment and personnel, has become a go-to call to save cats, dogs, turtles and more.—
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Ole Miss has enough dangerous weapons in quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, running back Kewan Lacy and wide receivers Harrison Wallace III, De’Zhaun Stribling and Deuce Alexander to make a tired defense pay.—
Adjective
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Public systems can be somewhat risk adverse.—
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Nekrasov said adverse weather conditions also left parts of several other regions without power, including Chernihiv, Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakarpattia.—
Adjective
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Iran is facing its worst drought in decades, raising fears of evacuations in Tehran while threatening the regime’s stability and nuclear ambitions, according to a leading environmental expert.—
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Keeping bad things out of my body.—
Cite this Entry
“Harmful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harmful. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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