Damaging — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective verb /ˈda-mi-jiŋ/ dam·ag·ing

Meaning & Definition of Damaging

Damaging (adjective)

  1. causing or able to cause damage, injurious

Damaging (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. causing or capable of causing harm

    "the damaging effects of the sun on unprotected skin"

    similar: adverse, bad, baleful, baneful, dangerous, deleterious, detrimental, evil, harmful, hurtful, ill, injurious, mischievous, nocuous, noxious, pernicious, prejudicial, wicked
    related: hostile, inimical, unfriendly, contagious, deadly, infectious, infective, pestiferous, pestilent, pestilential, poisonous, venomous, insidious, menacing, ominous, sinister, threatening, hazardous, imperiling, jeopardizing, parlous, perilous, risky, unsafe, unsound, nasty, noisome, unhealthful, unhealthy, unwholesome, destructive, fatal, killer, lethal, malignant, ruinous
    opposite: anodyne, benign, harmless, hurtless, innocent, innocuous, inoffensive, safe
    near: advantageous, beneficial, useful, favorable, good, propitious, curative, healthful, healthy, helpful, palliative, remedial, salubrious, salutary, wholesome, secure, sound, benignant, noncorrosive, nondestructive, nonfatal, noninfectious, nonlethal, nonpoisonous, nonpolluting, nontoxic, nonvenomous

Damaging (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of

    "the explosion in the sewers damaged the entire city's water supply"

    similar: blemishing, bloodying, breaking, compromising, crabbing, crippling, crossing (up), defacing, disfiguring, endamaging, flawing, harming, hurting, impairing, injuring, marring, spoiling, vitiating
    related: deteriorating, enervating, enfeebling, undermining, weakening, eroding, scouring, washing out, wearing (away), blighting, tarnishing, denting, dinging, dinting, botching, gumming (up), queering, lacerating, wounding, disabling, hamstringing, laming, maiming, mangling, mutilating, tormenting, torturing, annihilating, banging up, bashing, battering, clobbering, crushing, dashing, decimating, demolishing, desolating, destroying, devastating, doing in, pulverizing, razing, ruining, scourging, shattering, smashing, tearing down, totaling, wasting, wiping out, wrecking
    opposite: doctoring, fixing, mending, patching, rebuilding, reconditioning, reconstructing, renovating, repairing, revamping
    near: curing, healing, helping, rectifying, rehabilitating, remedying, editing, remodeling, revising, ameliorating, bettering, enhancing, enriching, improving, meliorating, perfecting, refining

  2. to cause bodily damage to

    "his knee was badly damaged in the accident, and he walked with a limp for months"

    similar: harming, hurting, injuring, wounding
    related: battering, bloodying, blowing out, bruising, contusing, cutting, gashing, goring, lacerating, scalding, scarring, scathing, straining, tearing, creasing, grazing, nicking, crippling, hamstringing, laming, maiming, mangling, mutilating, abusing, afflicting, aggrieving, maltreating, tormenting, torturing, laying up, blemishing, impairing, marring, scraping, spoiling
    near: curing, fixing, healing, mending, remedying

Related Entry: Damage (verb)

Damage is a different word from Damaging. The synonyms below are for damage, not for damaging.

  1. to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of

    "the explosion in the sewers damaged the entire city's water supply"

    similar: blemish, bloody, break, compromise, crab, cripple, cross (up), deface, disfigure, endamage, flaw, harm, hurt, impair, injure, mar, spoil, vitiate
    related: deteriorate, enervate, enfeeble, undermine, weaken, erode, scour, wash out, wear (away), blight, tarnish, dent, ding, dint, botch, gum (up), queer, lacerate, wound, disable, hamstring, lame, maim, mangle, mutilate, torment, torture, annihilate, bang up, bash, batter, clobber, crush, dash, decimate, demolish, desolate, destroy, devastate, do in, pulverize, raze, ruin, scourge, shatter, smash, tear down, total, waste, wipe out, wreck
    opposite: doctor, fix, mend, patch, rebuild, recondition, reconstruct, renovate, repair, revamp
    near: cure, heal, help, rectify, rehabilitate, remedy, edit, remodel, revise, ameliorate, better, enhance, enrich, improve, meliorate, perfect, refine

  2. to cause bodily damage to

    "his knee was badly damaged in the accident, and he walked with a limp for months"

    similar: harm, hurt, injure, wound
    related: batter, bloody, blow out, bruise, contuse, cut, gash, gore, lacerate, scald, scar, scathe, strain, tear, crease, graze, nick, cripple, hamstring, lame, maim, mangle, mutilate, abuse, aggrieve, afflict, maltreat, torment, torture, lay up, blemish, impair, mar, scrape, spoil
    near: cure, fix, heal, mend, remedy

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Damaging

The most common words with a similar meaning to Damaging:

adverse, bad, baleful, baneful, dangerous, deleterious, detrimental, evil, harmful, hurtful, ill, injurious, mischievous, nocuous, noxious, pernicious, prejudicial, wicked, blemishing, bloodying, breaking, compromising, crabbing, crippling, crossing (up), defacing, disfiguring, endamaging, flawing, harming, hurting, impairing, injuring, marring, spoiling, vitiating, wounding

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Damaging

Words with the opposite meaning of Damaging:

anodyne, benign, harmless, hurtless, innocent, innocuous, inoffensive, safe, doctoring, fixing, mending, patching, rebuilding, reconditioning, reconstructing, renovating, repairing, revamping

Related Words for Damaging

hostile, inimical, unfriendly, contagious, deadly, infectious, infective, pestiferous, pestilent, pestilential, poisonous, venomous, insidious, menacing, ominous, sinister, threatening, hazardous, imperiling, jeopardizing, parlous, perilous, risky, unsafe, unsound, nasty, noisome, unhealthful, unhealthy, unwholesome

Near Antonyms of Damaging

advantageous, beneficial, useful, favorable, good, propitious, curative, healthful, healthy, helpful, palliative, remedial, salubrious, salutary, wholesome, secure, sound, benignant, noncorrosive, nondestructive, nonfatal, noninfectious, nonlethal, nonpoisonous, nonpolluting, nontoxic, nonvenomous, curing, healing, helping

Word Forms of Damaging

Derived words: damagingly (adverb)

Origin & Etymology of Damaging

First known use: circa 1828

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Damaging

Frequently Asked Questions about Damaging

What does "Damaging" mean?

"Damaging" means causing or able to cause damage, injurious. As an an adjective and a verb, it is defined as: causing or able to cause damage, injurious. It has 3 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Damaging"?

Other words for "Damaging" include adverse, bad, baleful, baneful, dangerous, deleterious, detrimental and evil. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Damaging" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Damaging"?

There are 143 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Damaging". Common alternatives include adverse, bad, baleful, baneful, dangerous, deleterious, detrimental, evil, harmful and hurtful.

What is the opposite of "Damaging"?

Antonyms of "Damaging" include anodyne, benign, harmless, hurtless, innocent, innocuous, inoffensive and safe. Near antonyms include advantageous, beneficial, useful and favorable.

How do you use "Damaging" in a sentence?

Examples of "Damaging" in a sentence: "the damaging effects of the sun on unprotected skin"; "the explosion in the sewers damaged the entire city's water supply"; "his knee was badly damaged in the accident, and he walked with a limp for months".

Is "Damaging" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Damaging" can be used as an adjective and a verb, depending on the context.

Is "Damaging" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As a C1-level word, "Damaging" is typical of Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE), IELTS band 7.0–8.0, TOEFL iBT 95–113, PTE Academic 76–84, TOEIC Listening & Reading 945+. Advanced words like this are also useful for the GRE, SAT, GMAT, and LSAT.

How do you pronounce "Damaging"?

"Damaging" is pronounced /ˈda-mi-jiŋ/ and divided into syllables as dam·ag·ing.