deleterious
[del-i-teer-ee-uh s]
- injurious to health: deleterious gases.
- harmful; injurious: deleterious influences.
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Origin of deleterious
1635–45; < Greek dēlētḗrios destructive, adj. derivative of dēlētḗr destroyer, equivalent to dēlē- variant stem of dēleîsthai to hurt, injure + -tēr agent suffix + -ios adj. suffix; see -ious
Synonyms
See more synonyms for deleterious on Thesaurus.com2. pernicious, hurtful, destructive; noxious.
Antonyms
2. beneficial.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for undeleterious
Historical Examples
It contained inhabitants of as undeleterious and self-satisfied a class of peasantry as ever clustered around a Maypole.
deleterious
- harmful; injurious; hurtful
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Word Origin
C17: from New Latin dēlētērius, from Greek dēlētērios injurious, destructive, from dēleisthai to hurt
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for undeleterious
deleterious
adj.
1640s, from Medieval Latin deleterius, from Greek deleterios "noxious," from deleter "destroyer," from deleisthai "to hurt, injure." Related: Deleteriously; deleteriousness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
deleterious
(dĕl′ĭ-tîr′ē-əs)- Having a harmful effect; injurious.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.