detriment

[de-truh-muh nt]

See more synonyms for detriment on Thesaurus.com

noun

loss, damage, disadvantage, or injury.
a cause of loss or damage.

Origin of detriment

1400–50; late Middle English (< Middle French) < Latin dētrīmentum loss, damage, equivalent to dētrī- (see detritus) + -mentum -ment

Synonym study

1. See damage.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for detriment

loss, harm, mischief, handicap, disability, damage, hurt, liability, drawback, prejudice, disservice, injury, impairment, marring

Examples from the Web for detriment

Contemporary Examples of detriment

There seems to be so much pressure to reinvent the wheel these days, to a detriment when it comes to TV programming.
Can Maya Rudolph Save the Variety Show?
Kevin Fallon
May 20, 2014
But according to Rob Lowe, a man who possesses all of these qualities, being too pretty as an actor is actually a detriment.
Rob Lowe: Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Beautiful
Tricia Romano
April 8, 2014
We take our cultural icons very seriously, often to both their detriment and ours.
Proustapalooza: Going Crazy for Marcel’s Novel at 100
Elisabeth Ladenson
October 3, 2013
In geopolitics, this is where regions or states fracture into smaller, mutually-hostile units to the detriment of all.
Twitchy! Michelle Malkin's Phony War
Tom Doran
April 10, 2013
I really like jackets, and tend to buy them to the detriment of my need of all the other items.
Ali Smith: How I Write
Noah Charney
January 23, 2013

Historical Examples of detriment

This should be skimmed off as it forms, for it is a detriment to the jelly.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 5
Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
I do not mean that his mind or mental powers are in any way affected to their detriment.
The Old Game
Samuel G. Blythe
It may be perfectly true that you can employ it to our detriment.
Davenport Dunn, Volume 2 (of 2)
Charles James Lever
The attorney cannot determine the relation himself, to his client's detriment.
An Essay on Professional Ethics
George Sharswood
Then others who depend on us will indulge theirs, to our detriment and misery.
Daily Thoughts
Charles Kingsley

British Dictionary definitions for detriment

detriment

noun

disadvantage or damage; harm; loss
a cause of disadvantage or damage

Word Origin for detriment

C15: from Latin dētrīmentum, a rubbing off, hence damage, from dēterere to rub away, from de- + terere to rub

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for detriment

early 15c., from Middle French détriment or directly from Latin detrimentum "a rubbing off; a loss, damage, defeat," from past participle stem of detere "to wear away," figuratively "to weaken, impair," from de- "away" (see de-) + terere "to rub, wear" (see throw (v.)).