harmful
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of harmful
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English hearmful; see harm, -ful
Explanation
Things that are harmful hurt people, or are likely to hurt them. Listening to loud music through headphones can be harmful to your hearing. Harmful is an adjective that comes in handy when you're talking about things that cause injury to someone or damage something. Burning coal can be harmful to the environment, and eating too much candy can be harmful for your teeth. Harmful words can hurt someone's feelings and harmful actions might put them in danger. The Old English hearm, "hurt, evil, or grief," is at the root of harmful.
Vocabulary lists containing harmful
Earth Day
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Unfavorable
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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.
"We also combine automated systems and human review to identify and block harmful material", it added in a statement.
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026
In people with Alzheimer's, these pumps become much less effective, reducing the brain's ability to remove harmful waste and allowing amyloid-beta to accumulate.
From Science Daily • Jun. 16, 2026
The U.K. plans to ban children under the age of 16 from major social-media platforms including TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, ramping up pressure on big tech companies to shield younger users from harmful online content.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 15, 2026
There were also die-offs of seals, sea lions and marine birds, Leising said, probably from a combination of a lack of food and harmful algal blooms, and less food out there for baleen whales.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2026
“I hope you will publicize the fact that you made this plea . . . mainly because of the possibility of public opinion harmful to science,” he wrote Lawrence.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
