How to Use damning in a Sentence

damning

adjective
  • The most damning: a death threat that still gives her nightmares.
    — Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 9 Sep. 2017
  • And, of course, the most damning stat: 0-10 as a starter (with three more losses in relief).
    — Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 12 Sep. 2021
  • Even more damning for the offense: The defense is still very good.
    — Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News, 12 Nov. 2024
  • The most damning points of protest were not the planes trailing banners, or the chants, or the voices raised in anger.
    — New York Times, 13 May 2018
  • Her last mistake, the final ‘cut’, is the most damning.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 18 June 2024
  • With that said, the overall dearth of humor is a more damning sin.
    — Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 13 Mar. 2025
  • But the most damning figure was the one that offered the Retrievers the least hope.
    — Jonas Shaffer, baltimoresun.com, 17 Mar. 2018
  • More damning than the Elite Eight ousters are the three second-round losses since the 2008 title.
    — Marcus Hayes, Philly.com, 26 Mar. 2018
  • The piece later went back up, with a far less damning headline.
    — Azam Ahmed, New York Times, 25 Dec. 2017
  • The lawsuit, which is 55 pages long, includes lots of damning claims.
    — Kurt Wagner, Recode, 14 Aug. 2018
  • Forbes doesn’t like to see rich people portrayed in such a damning way.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2021
  • That’d, of course, be the most damning outcome for Lewis in the final season of his contract.
    — Ryan Wooden, ajc, 23 Sep. 2017
  • Far from breathing life into his damning report, the tired Robert Mueller sucked the life out of it.
    — John Kass, Twin Cities, 28 July 2019
  • But even more damning would be for the Big 12 champion to deserve to make the playoff — and still fail to get a bid.
    — Marc Tracy, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2017
  • This is probably the most damning thing about the paper.
    — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 11 Oct. 2017
  • The data about those behind the camera is even more damning.
    — Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2021
  • Some of the most damning evidence is where Laci and her unborn child were found.
    — Jonathan Vigliotti, CBS News, 1 May 2021
  • On the road for eight months listening to the victims, Salazar came back with a damning report.
    — Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 9 Mar. 2025
  • Stein's article is so damning, it was used in the 2006 proxy fight between Peltz and Heinz.
    — Alexander Coolidge, USA TODAY, 5 Oct. 2017
  • Even more damning, authorities say that traces of Jamie's blood were found on the gun.
    — CBS News, 9 Apr. 2022
  • Those banners fall from the rafters, with damning numbers for all to see, and the actors leave the stage without a curtain call.
    — Chris Vognar, Chron, 17 Feb. 2023
  • The charges Trump is facing are likely going to be damning.
    — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 25 July 2023
  • And there could hardly be a more damning indictment of them than that.
    — Isaac Schorr, National Review, 15 Jan. 2021
  • The layers to the appearance were endless, but the most damning is that Williams was rumored to date Drake years ago.
    — Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2025
  • England was split clean in two this decade, the damning and beleaguered on one side, the acutely aware on the other.
    — Matt Wilkinson, Billboard, 6 Dec. 2019
  • That prosecutors felt the case against Foster was strong enough to bring charges should have been damning enough for the 49ers.
    — Nancy Armour, USA TODAY, 23 Apr. 2018
  • That can be either read as damning with faint praise, or seen as a small victory of sorts.
    — Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 3 July 2023
  • That made what came next feel important, damning, and true.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 18 Oct. 2019
  • The act of violence, so viscerally damning, is not in the Strindberg.
    — Jesse Green, New York Times, 19 May 2025
  • In hindsight, clips of guests and Combs himself discussing his parties are, indeed, damning and unsettling to watch.
    — Kyndall Cunningham, Vox, 12 May 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'damning.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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