as in damages
something that causes loss or pain
you were lucky to survive the fire without harm no harm in trying
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in injures
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 hurts
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
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 harms
Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 24 Apr. 2026
Invisible, tasteless and odorless, nitrates in drinking water have been linked to thyroid disease, certain cancers and other health harms.
—Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 23 Apr. 2026
Experts say research supports the idea that young people and those who are pregnant are among the populations who should avoid cannabis as a whole because of high risks and harms.
—Hannah Yasharoff, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2026
Experts emphasize that Indigenous peoples already face health inequities from colonialism and climate change, and these harms are compounded by armed conflicts and militarization that risk ecological degradation and further displacement of Indigenous peoples from their lands.
—Anita Hofschneider, ABC News, 20 Apr. 2026
Her work as an activist to repair the environmental and social harms has earned her The Goldman Environmental Prize for 2026.
—Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 20 Apr. 2026
This must include standardized mechanisms for clinicians, users, and families to report serious psychological harms linked to chatbot use, with mandatory public disclosure of aggregated data.
—Marc Augustin, STAT, 16 Apr. 2026
In a landmark social media addiction trial in March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable for harms to youth using their platforms, per the Associated Press.
—State House News Service, Boston Herald, 15 Apr. 2026
The harms of porous insurance oversight have also surfaced in the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care, an even larger hospital chain bankrolled by private equity.
—Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 9 Apr. 2026
Jasna Hodžić, Big Think, 22 Apr. 2026
If a practice consistently harms minors, the state has a valid and urgent interest in stopping it.
—A.j. Russo, Baltimore Sun, 13 Apr. 2026
People can be persuaded that community action should trump individual choice if a behavior, such as smoking cigarettes or driving while drunk, harms others who don’t engage in it.
—Marie Helweg-Larsen, The Conversation, 10 Apr. 2026
Commissioners wanted to know whether the current marketplace benefits or harms consumers, and the fragmented media landscape facilitates or restricts the ability of traditional media to broadcast work in the public interest, including in local news and reporting.
—Colleen Long, NBC news, 9 Apr. 2026
Luna himself has acknowledged never finding any, and department policy has always provided for the means to discipline and terminate any employee who engages in behavior that harms the public, fellow employees, or is otherwise prohibited by law.
—Opinion Staff, Daily News, 5 Apr. 2026
Science shows that burning coal harms human health and contributes to climate change.
—Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 1 Apr. 2026
Admitting underprepared students, especially those already disadvantaged, harms them.
—David Blobaum, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2026
Another jury in New Mexico said Tuesday that Meta violates state laws and harms children's safety and mental health with its platforms including Facebook and Instagram.
—Carmel Wroth, NPR, 27 Mar. 2026
Noun
Lehkonen closed quickly and started a break the other way, with his brother-in-harms, O'Connor, racing to the Finn's right.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 24 Apr. 2026
Invisible, tasteless and odorless, nitrates in drinking water have been linked to thyroid disease, certain cancers and other health harms.
—Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 23 Apr. 2026
Experts say research supports the idea that young people and those who are pregnant are among the populations who should avoid cannabis as a whole because of high risks and harms.
—Hannah Yasharoff, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2026
Experts emphasize that Indigenous peoples already face health inequities from colonialism and climate change, and these harms are compounded by armed conflicts and militarization that risk ecological degradation and further displacement of Indigenous peoples from their lands.
—Anita Hofschneider, ABC News, 20 Apr. 2026
Her work as an activist to repair the environmental and social harms has earned her The Goldman Environmental Prize for 2026.
—Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 20 Apr. 2026
This must include standardized mechanisms for clinicians, users, and families to report serious psychological harms linked to chatbot use, with mandatory public disclosure of aggregated data.
—Marc Augustin, STAT, 16 Apr. 2026
In a landmark social media addiction trial in March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable for harms to youth using their platforms, per the Associated Press.
—State House News Service, Boston Herald, 15 Apr. 2026
The harms of porous insurance oversight have also surfaced in the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care, an even larger hospital chain bankrolled by private equity.
—Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 9 Apr. 2026
Verb
Our modern health framework, which views humans as collections of biochemical parts, has struggled to explain basic questions, like why stress harms us or how mental states shape physical health.
—Jasna Hodžić, Big Think, 22 Apr. 2026
If a practice consistently harms minors, the state has a valid and urgent interest in stopping it.
—A.j. Russo, Baltimore Sun, 13 Apr. 2026
People can be persuaded that community action should trump individual choice if a behavior, such as smoking cigarettes or driving while drunk, harms others who don’t engage in it.
—Marie Helweg-Larsen, The Conversation, 10 Apr. 2026
Commissioners wanted to know whether the current marketplace benefits or harms consumers, and the fragmented media landscape facilitates or restricts the ability of traditional media to broadcast work in the public interest, including in local news and reporting.
—Colleen Long, NBC news, 9 Apr. 2026
Luna himself has acknowledged never finding any, and department policy has always provided for the means to discipline and terminate any employee who engages in behavior that harms the public, fellow employees, or is otherwise prohibited by law.
—Opinion Staff, Daily News, 5 Apr. 2026
Science shows that burning coal harms human health and contributes to climate change.
—Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 1 Apr. 2026
Admitting underprepared students, especially those already disadvantaged, harms them.
—David Blobaum, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2026
Another jury in New Mexico said Tuesday that Meta violates state laws and harms children's safety and mental health with its platforms including Facebook and Instagram.
—Carmel Wroth, NPR, 27 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harms
Noun
-
During closing arguments, Lynn Johnson, an attorney for Christine and Christopher Nolte, suggested the jury award $10 million for noneconomic damages and $5 million for economic damages.—
Judy L. Thomas,
Kansas City Star,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Tom Steyer The Democratic billionaire hedge fund founder who is positioning himself as the climate candidate in the race touted his drive to make oil companies pay for damages from climate change, including rising insurance rates and homes lost to wildfires.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
This storyline later appeared in the second season of Girls, as Dunham’s character Hannah is overwhelmed with the anxiety of writing a novel and similarly injures herself.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Apr. 2026
-
In her desperation to ask Val for a job on the new sitcom, Sharon falls and injures herself.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Yes, DiVincenzo’s absence hurts Minnesota’s prospects of making a deep playoff push.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Inflation hurts on so many levels.—
Susan Tompor,
USA Today,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The company has received 5,952 reports involving DC-DC converter replacements, but these have resulted in no accidents or injuries.—
Bryan Hood,
Robb Report,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The victim, who has not been identified, suffered severe crushing injuries to his lower limbs after becoming trapped in a lifting system, local fire authorities told Reuters, citing eyewitness accounts.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Chops, gouges, wounds it like the shadow grooves on the sidewalks—the sun is setting earlier.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Imperfect fleshly reality occupies the stage, the region where bones crack and wounds suppurate, schlumpy humans fall for each other, and jealousy roams murderously free.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
No sadness mars the purity of its paranoia.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2026
-
However, an earnestness mars most of the proceedings.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Expanding nonmedical exemptions, however, weakens the very protections those medically vulnerable children depend on.—
Sarah Marsicek,
The Orlando Sentinel,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Critics say allowing the department to delay or sideline state investigations weakens one of the last independent checks on government lawyers.—
Jaclyn Diaz,
NPR,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The author takes an overnight Amtrak journey instead of a flight to Washington as the government shutdown cripples Atlanta’s airport.—
Bill Barrow,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
-
These pressures could produce a tsunami that fractures the state’s fiscal foundation, self-inflicts a crisis ultimately demanding drastic cuts, and cripples its competitiveness.—
Andrew Rein,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harms. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
