1
as in aches
to feel or cause physical pain
my head hurts a bad sprain that really hurts I hurt all over
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in damages
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
don't worry that you'll hurt the new lawn by walking across it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in injures
to cause bodily damage to
the common belief that reading in poor light hurts your eyes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in grieves
to feel deep sadness or mental pain
I know you must be hurting from the cruel words they said
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in pains
a state of great suffering of body or mind
in her hurt she said a lot of things to her boyfriend that she didn't really mean
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in harms
something that causes loss or pain
a totally baseless accusation that caused lasting hurt to his reputation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hurts
Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 28 Mar. 2026
As if that wasn’t enough, declining kidney function also affects your body’s ability to activate vitamin D internally—and low vitamin D also hurts your calcium levels, since the vitamin mediates calcium absorption.
—Caroline Tien, SELF, 27 Mar. 2026
Global oil shortages also are causing some countries to resume or increase their use of coal, which creates more air pollution that hurts people, and more greenhouse gas emissions.
—Tammy Webber, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
Cancelling a trip to Hawaii hurts Hawaiians.
—Jen Murphy, Outside, 24 Mar. 2026
Its leader, the president, abuses power, hurts the innocent, and mocks the dead before their families have even begun to grieve.
—Peter Wehner, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2026
Your discerning side notices details others miss, so name what works and what hurts before proposing adjustments that would fix the latter.
—Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026
Meester is pure unhinged mean girl personified as the Kaylinn of Gloria’s imagination, contextualizing every Insta post in the most outrageous extremities that only hurts her own sense of self.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 18 Mar. 2026
What hurts the Cuban people is legitimizing it.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 17 Mar. 2026
Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Being rejected hurts, and finding success may not erase the emotional residue of all those prior rebuffs.
—Anna Holmes, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
Work On Your Personal Relationships Work on your most significant personal relationship to shore up conflict, hurts and wounds, and turn it into one that is life-giving and energizing.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Verb
Critics contend the industry plunders distressed companies, leading to downsizing and cost-cutting that hurts local communities, though other research has pushed back on that reputation.
—Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 28 Mar. 2026
As if that wasn’t enough, declining kidney function also affects your body’s ability to activate vitamin D internally—and low vitamin D also hurts your calcium levels, since the vitamin mediates calcium absorption.
—Caroline Tien, SELF, 27 Mar. 2026
Global oil shortages also are causing some countries to resume or increase their use of coal, which creates more air pollution that hurts people, and more greenhouse gas emissions.
—Tammy Webber, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
Cancelling a trip to Hawaii hurts Hawaiians.
—Jen Murphy, Outside, 24 Mar. 2026
Its leader, the president, abuses power, hurts the innocent, and mocks the dead before their families have even begun to grieve.
—Peter Wehner, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2026
Your discerning side notices details others miss, so name what works and what hurts before proposing adjustments that would fix the latter.
—Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026
Meester is pure unhinged mean girl personified as the Kaylinn of Gloria’s imagination, contextualizing every Insta post in the most outrageous extremities that only hurts her own sense of self.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 18 Mar. 2026
What hurts the Cuban people is legitimizing it.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 17 Mar. 2026
Noun
Modern play calling insists on going for it on fourth downs, particularly in the opponent’s territory, because converting on fourth down helps more than failing to convert on fourth down hurts.
—Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Being rejected hurts, and finding success may not erase the emotional residue of all those prior rebuffs.
—Anna Holmes, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
Work On Your Personal Relationships Work on your most significant personal relationship to shore up conflict, hurts and wounds, and turn it into one that is life-giving and energizing.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hurts
Verb
-
In a story translated from Korean, a ghost aches with loneliness after scaring everyone away; in a story translated from Arabic, a midwife is called to aid with the birth of … something.—
Erik Pedersen,
Oc Register,
20 Mar. 2026
-
My heart aches for everyone who suffered alone and in silence for years.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Children are more likely to suffer from HUS, which damages blood vessels, according to the Mayo Clinic.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
27 Mar. 2026
-
This exposure damages the DNA in skin cells and can trigger changes that cause those cells to grow out of control and turn cancerous.—
Kaitlin Sullivan,
NBC news,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Pool drain seriously injures girl Paloma Quatrini was just days away from her fourth birthday when the accident happened at an upscale resort in Mexico.—
Meghan Schiller,
CBS News,
16 Mar. 2026
-
When Don injures his hand, Blue (Hunter McVey) is forced to step into the competition for him.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Everyone grieves differently, and the emotions can come on in waves.—
Harriette Cole,
Mercury News,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Now 32, Karanja grieves the milestones and achievements her dad hasn't been able to share — her graduation from college, for example, and her budding career as a researcher.—
Marc Silver,
NPR,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
One associate dean couched the misstep as a result of learning pains tied to the adoption of new technology.—
Emily Hodgson Anderson,
The Conversation,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Tagovailoa, sporting a gray T-shirt and white ball cap, went through the pains and shortcomings of his past, his expectations for 2026 and the quarterback battle that awaits him in Flowery Branch.—
Daniel Flick,
AJC.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The evidence presented in Los Angeles bolstered the plaintiff's arguments that Meta and YouTube executives knew of their products' design harms and failed to adequately address them.—
Jennifer Elias,Jonathan Vanian,
CNBC,
3 Apr. 2026
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Disability rights advocates say there’s no excuse for not following the federal mandate 35 years after its passage and that these lawsuits identify real harms.—
Kate Wolffe,
Sacbee.com,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
My boredom typically spurs feelings of frustration, guilt, shame—and long nutritionless spells of goggling, slack-jawed, at celebrity news on my phone while the world throbs around me.—
Daniel Smith,
The Atlantic,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Pain that is not a word throbs in his shoulders, awakens him each morning.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
No sadness mars the purity of its paranoia.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2026
-
However, an earnestness mars most of the proceedings.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hurts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurts. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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