detrimental
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of detrimental
Explanation
Detrimental is a formal way of saying "harmful." Anything detrimental hurts, hinders, or puts a damper on something. Detrimental things do damage. Have you ever heard "Smoking may be detrimental to your health" and wondered what it meant? It means that smoking is bad for your health: it's going to harm you in a bunch of ways. Detrimental is a more official, formal way of talking about things that do harm. A dog who likes digging holes can be detrimental to a garden. If you're writing a paper and want to pick an alternative to harmful that sounds more formal, detrimental is a great choice.
Vocabulary lists containing detrimental
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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This Week in Words: January 27 - February 2, 2018
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Our data suggest this metabolic whiplash is detrimental to heart health," Al-Aly added.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
The 18-year-old said scrapping it "would be a huge mistake and detrimental to youth voice across the UK," and it should be allowed to evolve within its current format.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
But he worries the project could be detrimental to businesses at the center of town, where the area went through a revival in recent decades.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Drinking a lower than recommended amount of fluids can have a detrimental health effect.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
He reads: “‘Above certain levels, noise or noise disturbance is detrimental to the health and welfare of the citizenry and the individual’s right to peaceful and quiet enjoyment.
From "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
