deleterious

[del-i-teer-ee-uhs]

adjective

injurious to health: deleterious gases.

harmful; injurious: deleterious influences.

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

Related formsdel·e·te·ri·ous·ly, adverbdel·e·te·ri·ous·ness, nounnon·del·e·te·ri·ous, adjectivenon·del·e·te·ri·ous·ly, adverbnon·del·e·te·ri·ous·ness, nounun·del·e·te·ri·ous, adjectiveun·del·e·te·ri·ous·ly, adverbun·del·e·te·ri·ous·ness, noun

Synonyms for deleterious

2. pernicious, hurtful, destructive; noxious.

Antonyms for deleterious

2. beneficial.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for undeleterious

Historical Examples of undeleterious

It contained inhabitants of as undeleterious and self-satisfied a class of peasantry as ever clustered around a Maypole.
The Boy Scouts Book of Stories
Various

British Dictionary definitions for undeleterious

deleterious

adjective

harmful; injurious; hurtful

Derived Formsdeleteriously, adverbdeleteriousness, noun

Word Origin for deleterious

C17: from New Latin dēlētērius, from Greek dēlētērios injurious, destructive, from dēleisthai to hurt

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

undeleterious in Medicine

deleterious

[dĕl′ĭ-tîr′ē-əs]

adj.

Having a harmful effect; injurious.