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Synonyms

wounded

American  
[woon-did] / ˈwun dɪd /

adjective

  1. suffering injury or bodily harm, as a laceration or bullet wound.

    to bandage a wounded hand.

  2. marred; damaged; impaired.

    a wounded reputation.

noun

  1. Usually the wounded wounded persons collectively.

    to treat the wounded.
wounded British  
/ ˈwuːndɪd /

adjective

    1. suffering from wounds; injured, esp in a battle or fight

    2. ( as collective noun; preceded by the )

      the wounded

  2. (of feelings) damaged or 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

Other Word Forms

  • self-wounded adjective
  • unwounded adjective

Etymology

Origin of wounded

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English gewundode; wound 1, -ed 2

Vocabulary lists containing wounded

Chief Joseph's Words to Washington D.C. (1879)

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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.

Relatives of the wounded gathered at the entrance to the emergency department, where a woman wept, leaning on a young man.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

Certainly, Iran emerges from this war gravely wounded, but far from extinguished as a regional power.

From Slate • Apr. 8, 2026

He told reporters the operation to retrieve the wounded officer from “one of the toughest areas in Iran” was possible with a mix of “talent” and “luck.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

Trump said the Friday rescue of the first airman was kept quiet so a search could continue for the second pilot, who was wounded but climbed up to a mountain crevice where he was rescued.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

And now, as well as leading the flight formation and dealing with the pain in her wounded leg, she was switching off the Pe-2’s burning engine.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

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.