harm
1 of 2noun
ˈhärm 
1
: physical or mental damage : injury
the amount of harm sustained by the boat during the storm
2
: mischief, hurt
I meant you no harm.
harm
2 of 2verb
harmed; harming; harms
transitive verb
: to damage or injure physically or mentally : to cause harm (see harm entry 1) to
No animals were harmed in the making of the film.
the national interest … was gravely harmed by this attack
Elmer Davis
Elmer Davis harmer noun
Synonyms
Noun
- affliction
- damage
- detriment
- hurt
- injury
Verb
- damage
- hurt
- injure
- wound
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun They threatened him with bodily harm. The scandal has done irreparable harm to his reputation. She'll do anything to protect her children from harm. They have suffered serious physical harm. These new regulations could cause lasting harm to small businesses. Verb He would never intentionally harm his children. chemicals that could harm the environment The scandal has seriously harmed his reputation. See More
Recent Examples on the Web Jose A. Del Real, Washington Post, 13 Sep. 2022 America’s energy industry isolated the nation from significant harm. Paul Podolsky, WSJ, 12 Sep. 2022 But city officials noted that researchers are increasingly concerned about accumulation in soil because the chemicals linger indefinitely and can cause harm at extremely low levels. Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 10 Sep. 2022 Etowah County Deputy District Attorney Carol Griffith said the bond conditions protect Burns’ children from the harm caused by parental drug abuse. al, 7 Sep. 2022 The facility had further failed to protect them from harm and provide adequate health and psychiatric care, the DOJ found. Molly Parker, ProPublica, 7 Sep. 2022 Whether those safeguards will arrive in time to save us all from serious harm remains to be seen. Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2022 Members of the public have no constitutional right to sue public employees who fail to protect them from harm inflicted by third parties, the judge noted. oregonlive, 2 Sep. 2022 Those with an iPhone X or previous model who find that their battery is always running low will appreciate this battery case from Mophie that will keep your phone away from harm while also giving it some extra juice! Olivia Lipski, Good Housekeeping, 31 Aug. 2022 Dennis Pillion | Dpillion@al.com, al, 5 Sep. 2022 Companies also won’t know what to expect during the next slate of auctions, and uncertainty means higher bids, which Dynegy argues will harm customers in the long term. Sean Mcdonnell, cleveland, 2 Sep. 2022 The late addition of oil and gas initiatives to the Inflation Reduction Act helped Democrats pass the sweeping legislation, but advocates for people of color and low-income communities fear the compromise will harm those groups. Bill Keveney, USA TODAY, 28 Aug. 2022 Critics of the legislation argue that it is falsely branded, will harm the economy, and further increase government intervention in the economy in favor of some industries over others. Joe Silverstein, Fox News, 17 Aug. 2022 Pebble opponents have said pollution from the mine will harm what is the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery, which is enjoying record runs again this summer. Alex Demarban, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Aug. 2022 In Riverbend Park, surrounded by tall, pale ash trunks, Killian explained how the bug will harm around 2,000 ash trees — 11% of the tree inventory — in Corvallis’ public spaces. Madi Lietz And Aliannah Shalikar, oregonlive, 8 Aug. 2022 The Schumer-Manchin bill is full of measures that will harm Chamber companies. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 8 Aug. 2022 Deadbug Brew with the active ingredient of Spinosad is an organic pesticide that targets chilli thrips and will not harm ladybugs, green lacewings, minute pirate bugs and predatory mites. Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Aug. 2022 See More
Noun
Women, meanwhile, disproportionately suffer from harm within their households. Jose A. Del Real, Washington Post, 13 Sep. 2022 America’s energy industry isolated the nation from significant harm. Paul Podolsky, WSJ, 12 Sep. 2022 But city officials noted that researchers are increasingly concerned about accumulation in soil because the chemicals linger indefinitely and can cause harm at extremely low levels. Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 10 Sep. 2022 Etowah County Deputy District Attorney Carol Griffith said the bond conditions protect Burns’ children from the harm caused by parental drug abuse. al, 7 Sep. 2022 The facility had further failed to protect them from harm and provide adequate health and psychiatric care, the DOJ found. Molly Parker, ProPublica, 7 Sep. 2022 Whether those safeguards will arrive in time to save us all from serious harm remains to be seen. Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2022 Members of the public have no constitutional right to sue public employees who fail to protect them from harm inflicted by third parties, the judge noted. oregonlive, 2 Sep. 2022 Those with an iPhone X or previous model who find that their battery is always running low will appreciate this battery case from Mophie that will keep your phone away from harm while also giving it some extra juice! Olivia Lipski, Good Housekeeping, 31 Aug. 2022 Verb
Intellectually, my brain knows that a red spider in Alabama probably will not harm me. Dennis Pillion | Dpillion@al.com, al, 5 Sep. 2022 Companies also won’t know what to expect during the next slate of auctions, and uncertainty means higher bids, which Dynegy argues will harm customers in the long term. Sean Mcdonnell, cleveland, 2 Sep. 2022 The late addition of oil and gas initiatives to the Inflation Reduction Act helped Democrats pass the sweeping legislation, but advocates for people of color and low-income communities fear the compromise will harm those groups. Bill Keveney, USA TODAY, 28 Aug. 2022 Critics of the legislation argue that it is falsely branded, will harm the economy, and further increase government intervention in the economy in favor of some industries over others. Joe Silverstein, Fox News, 17 Aug. 2022 Pebble opponents have said pollution from the mine will harm what is the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery, which is enjoying record runs again this summer. Alex Demarban, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Aug. 2022 In Riverbend Park, surrounded by tall, pale ash trunks, Killian explained how the bug will harm around 2,000 ash trees — 11% of the tree inventory — in Corvallis’ public spaces. Madi Lietz And Aliannah Shalikar, oregonlive, 8 Aug. 2022 The Schumer-Manchin bill is full of measures that will harm Chamber companies. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 8 Aug. 2022 Deadbug Brew with the active ingredient of Spinosad is an organic pesticide that targets chilli thrips and will not harm ladybugs, green lacewings, minute pirate bugs and predatory mites. Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English, from Old English hearm; akin to Old High German harm injury, Old Church Slavonic sramŭ shame
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing harm
Kids Definition
harm 1 of 2
noun
ˈhärm
: physical or mental damage : injury
The storm did little harm to the sheltered beach.
harm
2 of 2verb
harmed; harming
: to cause hurt, injury, or damage to
insects that harm trees
Legal Definition
harm
noun
: loss of or damage to a person's right, property, or physical or mental well-being : injury
harm 1 of 2
noun
as in damage
something that causes loss or pain you were lucky to survive the fire without harm no harm in trying Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- damage
- injury
- hurt
- detriment
- insult
- affront
- wrong
- disservice
- injustice
- affliction
- crippling
- impairment
- mutilation
- mayhem
- indignity
- disfigurement
- outrage
- disability
- wound
- beating
- offence
- burn
- abrasion
- dart
- swelling
- rupture
- defacement
- offense
- lesion
- bruise
- scratch
- disablement
- scar
- laceration
- scald
- contusion
- scathe
- strain
- chafe
- gash
- scrape
- boo-boo
- sear
- concussion
- bump
- cut
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- healing
- recovery
- remedy
- cure
- fix
harm
2 of 2verb
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
- damage
- injure
- hurt
- wound
- bruise
- scar
- torture
- tear
- blow out
- maim
- torment
- abuse
- cripple
- bloody
- impair
- gore
- scald
- scathe
- gash
- afflict
- nick
- mutilate
- strain
- batter
- graze
- crease
- lacerate
- hamstring
- mar
- spoil
- cut
- aggrieve
- lame
- contuse
- mangle
- blemish
- maltreat
- scrape
- lay up
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- heal
- cure
- remedy
- fix
- mend
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
- damage
- injure
- mar
- hurt
- compromise
- cripple
- weaken
- impair
- spoil
- erode
- destroy
- ruin
- disfigure
- break
- undermine
- flaw
- vitiate
- blemish
- bloody
- deface
- crab
- wound
- endamage
- deteriorate
- shatter
- cross (up)
- tarnish
- blight
- batter
- wreck
- dent
- devastate
- torture
- demolish
- wash out
- maim
- enfeeble
- torment
- enervate
- waste
- dint
- botch
- scour
- ding
- mutilate
- annihilate
- total
- lacerate
- decimate
- smash
- disable
- queer
- crush
- wipe out
- scourge
- tear down
- bang up
- hamstring
- pulverize
- clobber
- wear (away)
- desolate
- lame
- mangle
- raze
- bash
- dash
- gum (up)
- do in
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- repair
- help
- rebuild
- fix
- heal
- cure
- remedy
- patch
- mend
- reconstruct
- rectify
- rehabilitate
- improve
- better
- enhance
- renovate
- revamp
- ameliorate
- enrich
- recondition
- perfect
- doctor
- revise
- edit
- remodel
- refine
- meliorate
Synonym Chooser
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
While the synonyms damage and harm are close in meaning, damage suggests injury that lowers value or impairs usefulness.
a table damaged in shipping
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
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
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
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
- side stitch
- side strap
- side street
- side streets
- side stringer
- side suit
- side table
- side tables
- side to side
- side tool
- side trip
- side vault
- side view
- side whip graft
- side wind
- side with
- side yard
- side-band transmission
- side-bar keel
- side-bar rule
- side-beam engine
- side-blown
- side-box
- side-by-side
- side-centered