as in harmful
causing or capable of causing harm
the incredibly baneful effect that drug addiction has on so many communities
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Recent Examples of baneful
The baneful effects of war on public speech and freedoms in Russia have been well recorded.
—
Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Dec. 2022
The impact these soldiers had on the South was baneful.
—New York Times, 14 Feb. 2022
To home in on what gives these peculiar primates their baneful bite, Fry and his colleagues collected the underarm secretions from a handful of wild slow lorises housed at a research station in Indonesia and isolated the proteins within.
—Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Feb. 2020
We are mired in a baneful pandemic unlike anything endured for a century, parsing our lives into 14-day increments of health and survival — or not.
—Peter M. Leschak, Star Tribune, 31 July 2020
This resulted in all the baneful consequences of the French Revolution, which Edmund Burke so brilliantly exposed in his Reflections on the Revolution in France.
—Jaithirth Rao, Quartz India, 4 Nov. 2019
Chaos convincingly ebbs and flows in this rattling film, a baneful tide lapping at some of history’s most troubled shores.
—Richard Lawson, HWD, 20 July 2017
Chaos convincingly ebbs and flows in this rattling film, a baneful tide lapping at some of history’s most troubled shores.
—Richard Lawson, vanityfair.com, 20 July 2017
Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Dec. 2022
The impact these soldiers had on the South was baneful.
—New York Times, 14 Feb. 2022
To home in on what gives these peculiar primates their baneful bite, Fry and his colleagues collected the underarm secretions from a handful of wild slow lorises housed at a research station in Indonesia and isolated the proteins within.
—Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Feb. 2020
We are mired in a baneful pandemic unlike anything endured for a century, parsing our lives into 14-day increments of health and survival — or not.
—Peter M. Leschak, Star Tribune, 31 July 2020
This resulted in all the baneful consequences of the French Revolution, which Edmund Burke so brilliantly exposed in his Reflections on the Revolution in France.
—Jaithirth Rao, Quartz India, 4 Nov. 2019
Chaos convincingly ebbs and flows in this rattling film, a baneful tide lapping at some of history’s most troubled shores.
—Richard Lawson, HWD, 20 July 2017
Chaos convincingly ebbs and flows in this rattling film, a baneful tide lapping at some of history’s most troubled shores.
—Richard Lawson, vanityfair.com, 20 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for baneful
Adjective
-
Lights without these certifications may generate harmful byproducts, Taylor notes.—
Matt Fuchs,
Time,
12 June 2025
-
McFarland is facing charges of solicitation of a minor, transmission of harmful material to a minor and violation of probation.—
Devoun Cetoute,
Miami Herald,
12 June 2025
Adjective
-
The consequences are both deeply personal and widely systemic: Women are more likely to be misdiagnosed, experience adverse drug reactions, and face delays in care.—
Geri Stengel,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
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Mifepristone is currently part of that program, though a wealth of research has shown that less than 0.5% of women who take it have serious adverse reactions.—
Aria Bendix,
NBC news,
5 June 2025
Adjective
-
How detrimental and what that means for you is often difficult to know.—
Scott Gilbertson,
Wired News,
16 June 2025
-
Getting rid of those numbers would be detrimental to the Celtics' success.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 June 2025
Adjective
-
He was found guilty of corruption, and he should have been considered a dangerous criminal.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
17 June 2025
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While use of chrysotile asbestos was on the decline, the dangerous mineral has lingered in various gaskets, brake blocks, aftermarket automotive brakes and linings, other vehicle friction products, and some diaphragms used to make sodium hydroxide and chlorine.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
17 June 2025
Adjective
-
More than 50 million people from Mississippi to western New York are under a slight risk Monday of receiving damaging wind, large-sized hail, flash flooding and a few tornadoes.—
Kenton Gewecke,
ABC News,
9 June 2025
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Similarly, the recent court decisions do not change our view that the most economically damaging tariff possibilities have become less likely.—
Jeffrey Schulze,
Forbes.com,
9 June 2025
Adjective
-
Trump has lauded Israel's strikes and previously warned of much worse to come unless Iran quickly accepts the sharp downgrading of its nuclear program the U.S. has demanded in talks that had been due to resume on June 15.—
Sudiksha Kochi,
USA Today,
16 June 2025
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Bane is a 41 percent career 3-point shooter who, in his five prior seasons, never shot worse than 38.1 percent from deep in a season.—
Josh Robbins,
New York Times,
16 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Baneful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/baneful. Accessed 20 Jun. 2025.
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