HURTING Synonyms: 216 Similar and Opposite Words

hurting 1 of 2

adjective

as in aching

causing or feeling bodily pain a badly hurting finger kept her from writing neatly

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hurting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of hurt

as in throbbing

to feel or cause physical pain my head hurts a bad sprain that really hurts I hurt all over

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as in damaging

to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of don't worry that you'll hurt the new lawn by walking across it

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in injuring

to cause bodily damage to the common belief that reading in poor light hurts your eyes

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as in grieving

to feel deep sadness or mental pain I know you must be hurting from the cruel words they said

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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 hurting

Verb

Recent polling shows that high pump prices are driving down presidential approval and hurting Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. — Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026 Any increase to interest rates that could cool inflation also risks hurting the jobs market. — Damian J. Troise, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026 Mayer had some early success with her jab, but Cameron increasingly took control as the fight progressed and landed the cleaner punches before hurting Mayer with a right hand in the eighth round. — Amelie Claydon, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2026 And whether technology in a classroom is helping or hurting depends a lot on the teacher, experts say. — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 28 Aug. 2026 Going forward, the company will need to continue executing and deliver a higher-for-longer revenue acceleration to truly silence the bears and prove AI is helping, not hurting, its business. — Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026 Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool Musgrove also recalled a conversation with Patrick and Lindsay Clancy where her daughter expressed a fear of hurting the children. — Kerry Breen, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026 In addition to hurting consumers, Bird asserts that the uncertainty, along with Paramount’s $7 million ticking fee, will pull down an industry that’s just starting to get back on its feet. — Jack Dunn, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026 The attacks have also served Ukraine’s war goals by unsettling Russians living far from the front line and hurting the Russian economy. — ABC News, 26 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hurting

Adjective

The homestretch of the drama, however, takes the story in a chilling direction, packing an aching quantity of feeling into a single glance at a security camera as someone climbs into a car and leaves the compound, never to be heard from again.

— Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 26 May 2026
Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain (1997) Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain is an aching, tender slow burn shaped by absence.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026

Definition of aching

Verb

Prosecutors have also charged him with making false statements to investigators about allegedly damaging Mica’s car tires.

— Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 27 Aug. 2026
Russian drones hit three major distribution centers, destroying depots belonging to a toy store chain and a confectionery company, and damaging another run by an electronics retailer, the companies said.

— Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of damaging

Verb

Young people armed with machetes stormed the site of the funeral, forcing the team to flee and injuring one member, a representative told the Associated Press.

— Constant Same Bagalwa, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
The lawsuit states that the accused was arrested in May 2021 for injuring a man and damaging multiple vehicles after discharging a firearm more than 20 times at a Kissimmee gas station and then fleeing the scene.

— Evonne Andris, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of injuring

Verb

Crump was flanked by three sets of grieving Black families who have all lost their sons in recent months.

— Ryan Young, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
The grieving husband said Soto de Guzman wanted to take their son to Santo Domingo on the day after she was killed and had already booked a flight, but the son was in the midst of a mental health crisis.

— Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of grieving

Verb

To prevent a similar war from happening again, Menelaus scarred her face, permanently marring her famous beauty.

— Tanya Fedak, Variety, 18 July 2026
Lined with live oaks and old-fashioned, busy storefronts, this artsy town on the Gulf of Mexico has no commercial development marring its shoreline.

— Valerie Fraser Luesse, Southern Living, 16 June 2026

Definition of marring

Verb

Christian Castro faces Minnesota charges of assault and falsely reporting a crime after allegedly firing through a home’s front door and wounding 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis during an immigration crackdown.

— Michael Gonzalez, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
Brooklyn Center police say an investigation is underway after two girls riding a minibike collided with a motorist, fatally wounding one of the girls.

— Cole Premo, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026