hurtful
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hurtful
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.
Forget the fines and suspensions, most hurtful to fans is the league stripping the Clippers of five first-round draft picks, from 2029 through 2033.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
“It’s hurtful, because the people who are calling me rat and snitch, they’re all officers,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Three months later, I published a mea culpa, in which I renounced my support for Trump and apologized for my hurtful deeds and rhetoric.
From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2026
The Spotlight Shotts community group previously told BBC Scotland News the flippant comment was hurtful to people in the town.
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
A hurtful silence would fill the room, and Laila could almost see the wordless hostility radiating from Mariam like waves of heat rising from asphalt.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
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.
