Synonym Chooser

How is the word baneful different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of baneful are deleterious, detrimental, noxious, and pernicious. While all these words mean "exceedingly harmful," baneful implies injury through poisoning or destroying.

the baneful notion that discipline destroys creativity

In what contexts can deleterious take the place of baneful?

While in some cases nearly identical to baneful, deleterious applies to what has an often unsuspected harmful effect.

a diet found to have deleterious effects

When is detrimental a more appropriate choice than baneful?

The words detrimental and baneful are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, detrimental implies obvious harmfulness to something specified.

the detrimental effects of excessive drinking

Where would noxious be a reasonable alternative to baneful?

The words noxious and baneful can be used in similar contexts, but noxious applies to what is both offensive and injurious to the health of a body or mind.

noxious chemical fumes

When is it sensible to use pernicious instead of baneful?

Although the words pernicious and baneful have much in common, pernicious implies irreparable harm done through evil or insidious corrupting or undermining.

the claim that pornography has a pernicious effect on society

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for baneful
Adjective
  • Scientists have found bits of plastic in the ocean that are coated in communities of microorganisms, including harmful bacteria.5 Jayakrishnan said the microplastics in the body may play a similar role, offering a medium for cancer-causing bacteria to grow and disrupt the gut microbiome.
    Claire Bugos, Verywell Health, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Better yet, they can still be used on public lands to sustain local communities in place of harmful industrial extraction.
    TIME, TIME, 6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Environmental groups have long opposed the new reservoir and objected to a shorter judicial review, saying the project will release unacceptable amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas, into the air in addition to other adverse impacts.
    Ari Plachta, Sacramento Bee, 28 Feb. 2025
  • The advertisements also are subject to content restrictions, including no profanity, violence, firearms or material adverse to the city’s commercial interests.
    Devan Patel, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Studies have also shown that exercising during times of poor air quality—for instance, when there is a high level of these fine particulates in the air—is detrimental to our health.
    Claire Maldarelli, Scientific American, 28 Feb. 2025
  • And all deal with American iconography: more specifically, the nation’s foundational reliance on mythology and self-dramatization and the largely detrimental impact of all of that on, well, just making love and having children and trying to keep the wolf from the door.
    Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Listeria is particularly dangerous for elderly individuals, pregnant women, and those with weakened immune systems.
    Stephanie Gravalese, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
  • Tale of the Tape Texas Tech is a dangerous squad from deep and the Red Raiders aren’t shy at taking 3-pointers, ranking No. 93 in 3-point rate.
    Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The cyclone was already bringing heavy rainfall to coastal areas on Saturday, along with damaging winds and storm surges.
    Hilary Whiteman, CNN, 7 Mar. 2025
  • The system brought the potential for heavy rain, damaging winds, and isolated tornadoes.
    Russel Honoré, Newsweek, 5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Almost—the Cybertruck somehow manages to look worse in real life than in pictures; the confluence of angles where its various steel body panels fit together somehow serves to prove the exception to the rule that is the golden ratio.
    Ars Technica, Ars Technica, 28 Feb. 2025
  • The Browns are coming off a 3-14 season, their worst since a 0-16 campaign in 2017, Garrett's rookie year.
    Ryan Morik, Fox News, 28 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Baneful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/baneful. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

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