injury
Americannoun
plural
injuries-
harm or damage that is done or sustained.
to escape without injury.
- Synonyms:
- mischief, impairment, ruin, destruction
- Antonyms:
- benefit
-
a particular form or instance of harm.
an injury to one's shoulder; an injury to one's pride.
-
wrong or injustice done or suffered.
-
Law. any wrong or violation of the rights, property, reputation, etc., of another for which legal action to recover damages may be made.
-
Obsolete. injurious speech; calumny.
noun
-
physical damage or hurt
-
a specific instance of this
a leg injury
-
harm done to a reputation
-
law a violation or infringement of another person's rights that causes him harm and is actionable at law
-
an obsolete word for insult
Related Words
Injury, hurt, wound refer to impairments or wrongs. Injury, originally denoting a wrong done or suffered, is hence used for any kind of evil, impairment, or loss, caused or sustained: physical injury; injury to one's reputation. Hurt suggests especially physical injury, often bodily injury attended with pain: a bad hurt from a fall. A wound is usually a physical hurt caused by cutting, shooting, etc., or an emotional hurt: a serious wound in the shoulder; to inflict a wound by betraying someone's trust.
Other Word Forms
- noninjury noun
- reinjury noun
- self-injury noun
Etymology
Origin of injury
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English injurie, from Latin injūria “unlawful conduct, injustice,” equivalent to in- in- 3 + jūr-, stem of jūs “right, law” ( jus, just 1 ) + -ia -ia
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.
Peanut, believed to be a shepherd-husky mix, had suffered a significant traumatic injury that left him without most of his nose and his jaw dislocated.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026
The agency found that almost all of the reported crashes involved minor property-damage claims with no reported incidents involving an injury.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
Higher ticket prices only add insult to injury.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026
An injury in January of last year didn’t let him get the foundation to run as fast as he hoped.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026
I remember the disclaimer in Ama’s pamphlet—that the abosom take no responsibility for psychological trauma or physical injury that may come from a visit to the Eloko.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
