as in damages
something that causes loss or pain
you were lucky to survive the fire without harm no harm in trying
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in injures
to cause bodily damage to
though she wasn't harmed by the flying glass, she slipped and fell on a piece and cut her hand
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hurts
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
the company's reputation has been harmed by allegations of crooked accounting
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of harms
Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 14 Feb. 2026
Texas must establish multiple citizen/expert advisory councils to continuously monitor and advise legislators and agencies on best practices and potential harms and benefits to workers, tax revenue and the environment.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
Kuhl said last year that jurors should have the chance to consider whether design features implemented by the companies, like endlessly scrolling feeds, have contributed to mental health harms, rather than content alone.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2026
The vast majority of baby foods, drinks and snacks sold in the United States for children ages 6 months to 36 months are ultraprocessed and may contain additives increasingly linked to potential health harms, a new study found.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 11 Feb. 2026
Health risks The spike in marijuana use has led to some serious health harms, the Times wrote.
—Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 11 Feb. 2026
Jurors in a landmark social media case that seeks to hold tech companies responsible for harms to children got their first glimpse into what will be a lengthy trial characterized by dueling narratives from the plaintiffs and the two remaining defendants, Meta and YouTube.
—Kaitlyn Huamani, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2026
Rather, the study appears focused on looking for possible harms in the children who receive the vaccine at birth.
—Helen Branswell, STAT, 11 Feb. 2026
This fragmentation creates blind spots that contribute to adverse drug events, duplication of therapy and inefficient care and harms that ultimately drive up total health care costs.
—Sreedhar Potarazu, Baltimore Sun, 7 Feb. 2026
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 Feb. 2026
Agricultural tariffs have repeatedly triggered retaliation that harms American farmers more than foreign competitors.
—Carol L. Harris, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Feb. 2026
However, this could be a downside if the earthworm population is extremely high, since eliminating such a high volume of earthworms inevitably harms the soil.
—Michelle Mastro, The Spruce, 7 Feb. 2026
The couple's attorneys argue the law is protectionist, harms consumers by driving up costs, and benefits only the funeral industry.
—Dale Denwalt, Oklahoman, 6 Feb. 2026
There’s no clear evidence that sorbitol harms human liver health, but experts say frequent, high intake—especially from sugar-free foods—may be a concern for some people.
—Stephanie Brown, Verywell Health, 6 Feb. 2026
That’s a policy failure that disproportionately harms Black, Latino, rural and caregiving communities.
—Jesse Jackson Jr, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2026
What that means in practical terms is that we’re left with no protection if the drug harms us.
—J. Aaron Sanders, STAT, 4 Feb. 2026
Potential health harms Crowd-control weapons can cause severe and sometimes permanent injuries.
—Michele Heisler, The Conversation, 4 Feb. 2026
Noun
For example, rising temperatures have direct harms on health by increasing risk of dehydration and causing more stress on the heart.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 14 Feb. 2026
Texas must establish multiple citizen/expert advisory councils to continuously monitor and advise legislators and agencies on best practices and potential harms and benefits to workers, tax revenue and the environment.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
Kuhl said last year that jurors should have the chance to consider whether design features implemented by the companies, like endlessly scrolling feeds, have contributed to mental health harms, rather than content alone.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2026
The vast majority of baby foods, drinks and snacks sold in the United States for children ages 6 months to 36 months are ultraprocessed and may contain additives increasingly linked to potential health harms, a new study found.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 11 Feb. 2026
Health risks The spike in marijuana use has led to some serious health harms, the Times wrote.
—Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 11 Feb. 2026
Jurors in a landmark social media case that seeks to hold tech companies responsible for harms to children got their first glimpse into what will be a lengthy trial characterized by dueling narratives from the plaintiffs and the two remaining defendants, Meta and YouTube.
—Kaitlyn Huamani, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2026
Rather, the study appears focused on looking for possible harms in the children who receive the vaccine at birth.
—Helen Branswell, STAT, 11 Feb. 2026
This fragmentation creates blind spots that contribute to adverse drug events, duplication of therapy and inefficient care and harms that ultimately drive up total health care costs.
—Sreedhar Potarazu, Baltimore Sun, 7 Feb. 2026
Verb
Davis commits his robberies along the 101 freeway, and never harms anyone.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 Feb. 2026
Agricultural tariffs have repeatedly triggered retaliation that harms American farmers more than foreign competitors.
—Carol L. Harris, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Feb. 2026
However, this could be a downside if the earthworm population is extremely high, since eliminating such a high volume of earthworms inevitably harms the soil.
—Michelle Mastro, The Spruce, 7 Feb. 2026
The couple's attorneys argue the law is protectionist, harms consumers by driving up costs, and benefits only the funeral industry.
—Dale Denwalt, Oklahoman, 6 Feb. 2026
There’s no clear evidence that sorbitol harms human liver health, but experts say frequent, high intake—especially from sugar-free foods—may be a concern for some people.
—Stephanie Brown, Verywell Health, 6 Feb. 2026
That’s a policy failure that disproportionately harms Black, Latino, rural and caregiving communities.
—Jesse Jackson Jr, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2026
What that means in practical terms is that we’re left with no protection if the drug harms us.
—J. Aaron Sanders, STAT, 4 Feb. 2026
Potential health harms Crowd-control weapons can cause severe and sometimes permanent injuries.
—Michele Heisler, The Conversation, 4 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harms
Noun
-
Losses could put the tech firms on the hook for billions of dollars in damages and force them to change their platforms.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
11 Feb. 2026
-
If the companies are found liable, the jury will consider whether to award Kaley damages for pain and suffering, and could also impose punitive damages.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Bystander videos, like the ones taken of Pretti, have played a key role for decades in informing the public when law enforcement kills or injures people.—
Ava Berger,
NPR,
28 Jan. 2026
-
California law already criminalizes unsafe gun storage in certain situations, including when a child accesses a firearm and injures or kills someone.—
Grant Stringer,
Mercury News,
29 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
That case also crashed and burned in court and has been seen by critics as another example of an unnecessary prosecution that hurts the DOJ’s accountability image.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
15 Feb. 2026
-
That is a failure of leadership that hurts everyone.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Instructors are trained to teach students with injuries and mobility concerns.—
Everett Eaton,
jsonline.com,
10 Feb. 2026
-
The man later went into cardiac arrest and died from his injuries.—
Ashley Carnahan,
FOXNews.com,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
What once killed campaigns now barely wounds them.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Even with all of them in place, Shirley misses the masked attacker sneaking his way up to the apartment door, and Lamb’s attempt to blind him with bleach creates a chaotic struggle that wounds the assailant without containing him.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The picture exudes both grace and vulnerability, and hints at imperfection by way of a disconcerting, coral-like wrinkle that mars the foot’s heel.—
Chris Wiley,
New Yorker,
20 Dec. 2025
-
Deadly holiday weekend mars broad crime drop The back-and-forth followed a Labor Day weekend of deadly violence in Chicago worse than in the previous two years, with seven people shot to death, according to preliminary Chicago Police Department reports.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
When the vortex weakens, that tight circle becomes wavier, akin to how a slow-moving river tends to meander in bends across the landscape, Swain says.—
Andrea Thompson,
Scientific American,
9 Feb. 2026
-
In contrast to conventional recycling, which weakens fibers and limits how they can be reused, Uplift360’s non-degenerative method produces material that can go straight back into high-performance supply chains.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
These pressures could produce a tsunami that fractures the state’s fiscal foundation, self-inflicts a crisis ultimately demanding drastic cuts, and cripples its competitiveness.—
Andrew Rein,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Scarface and friends attack the lab, and break out the kryptonite that cripples El and Kali.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
31 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Harms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harms. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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