injury
Americannoun
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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.
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Obsolete. injurious speech; calumny.
noun
-
physical damage or hurt
-
a specific instance of this
a leg injury
-
harm done to a reputation
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law a violation or infringement of another person's rights that causes him harm and is actionable at law
-
an obsolete word for insult
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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” ( see jus, just 1) + -ia -ia
Explanation
Injury is a noun with several similar meanings, all involving physical harm or wrongdoing. If you’re not careful, your reckless bike riding could result in a crash that causes injury. Injury often refers to physical damage, but it can be used more figuratively to describe something that's unjust or that causes harm that isn't physical. For example, your estranged grandfather might do you the injury of leaving you out of his will. The word injury comes from in-, meaning “not,” and the Latin root ius or iur, meaning “right.” So an injury is something that's not right — it's something that has gone wrong that leads to damage.
Vocabulary lists containing injury
You Be the Judge: Jud, Jur, Jus
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Negatives with "in"
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That Hurts! Synonyms for "Pain"
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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.
See Examples For:
Halpern quit baseball in college after an injury and the realization that he’d never make the majors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
“This condition, if not addressed, could result in injury to passengers and crew during an emergency landing or could block the aisle, which could slow evacuation.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Within an hour and a half, a San Bernardino County firefighter suffered a terrain-related injury and was hospitalized, said Chloe Castillo, public information officer with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
After joining from Leicester for about £70m at the age of 21, Wesley Fofana's time at Chelsea has been plagued by injury.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
I supposed that a moment of weakness and fatigue on my part was exactly the invitation to injury she had in mind, though.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
A senior Jordanian government official said five missiles were intercepted in Jordan’s eastern desert and caused no injuries or material damage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Eight people were rescued from the mall, five of whom had injuries, a local official told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
CIF rules that restrict tackling to two days per week and a maximum of 45 to 90 minutes a day were adopted in an effort to protect players from concussions and injuries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
No fatalities or injuries were immediately reported after an EF-2 tornado hit Wisconsin.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
He was not even sure if Cluny was shamming, pretending that his injuries were severe merely as some kind of test or trap that he had set for his captains.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
