HARMFUL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does harmful mean? 

• HARMFUL (adjective)
  The adjective HARMFUL has 1 sense:

1. causing or capable of causing harm

  Familiarity information: HARMFUL used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HARMFUL (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Causing or capable of causing harm

Context example:

harmful effects of smoking

Similar:

stabbing; wounding (causing physical or especially psychological injury)

abusive (characterized by physical or psychological maltreatment)

bad (capable of harming)

bruising (causing mental or emotional injury)

deleterious; hurtful; injurious (harmful to living things)

calumniatory; calumnious; defamatory; denigrating; denigrative; denigratory; libellous; libelous; slanderous ((used of statements) harmful and often untrue; tending to discredit or malign)

catastrophic; ruinous (extremely harmful; bringing physical or financial ruin)

counterproductive (tending to hinder the achievement of a goal)

damaging; detrimental; prejudicial; prejudicious ((sometimes followed by 'to') causing harm or injury)

ill (resulting in suffering or adversity)

insidious; pernicious; subtle (working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way)

mischievous (deliberately causing harm or damage)

nocent (having a tendency to cause harm)

Also:

painful (causing physical or psychological pain)

unwholesome (detrimental to physical or moral well-being)

toxic (of or relating to or caused by a toxin or poison)

disadvantageous; unfavorable; unfavourable (involving or creating circumstances detrimental to success or effectiveness)

offensive (causing anger or annoyance)

noxious (injurious to physical or mental health)

destructive (causing destruction or much damage)

malign (evil or harmful in nature or influence)

Antonym:

harmless (not causing or capable of causing harm)

Derivation:

harmfulness (destructiveness that causes harm or injury)

 Context examples 

This can happen when nerve cells that detect something harmful alter the electrical or molecular signals they send to the spinal cord.

(Opioid Pain Relievers May Prolong Pain, NIH)

On Earth, ozone absorbs UV in the stratosphere, protecting our world from a lot of the Sun’s harmful radiation.

(WASP-18b Has Smothering Stratosphere Without Water, NASA)

But medicines can also cause harmful reactions if not used correctly.

(Medication Errors, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Cigars contain nicotine and many cancer-causing chemicals that are harmful to both smokers and nonsmokers.

(Cigar, NCI Dictionary)

The kidneys filter the blood, and these harmful particles can disrupt normal kidney function.

(Breathing Dirty Air May Harm Kidneys, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Eventually, this experiment could lead to the discovery of a method to slow down the rate at which the harmful fibers grow, thereby opening a window for a cure.

(Subtracting Gravity from Alzheimer's, NASA)

The plants have been modified so they express a mammalian protein, called 2E1, which enables them to transfer the harmful compounds into compounds that can support plant growth.

(Common Houseplant with Genetic Modification Can Remove Polluted Air, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

It is one of many harmful chemicals found in tobacco smoke.

(Methanol, NCI Dictionary)

Cigarettes contain nicotine and many cancer-causing chemicals that are harmful to both smokers and nonsmokers.

(Cigarette, NCI Dictionary)

It may refer to the process of removing toxins, poisons, or other harmful substances from the body.

(Detoxification, NCI Dictionary)