Meaning & use

damaging

adjective·Academic

Causing harm, injury, or loss to a person, object, or reputation.

See it in a sentence

The scandal was extremely damaging to the senator's chances of reelection.

Excessive sun exposure can be damaging to unprotected skin over time.

A note on using this word

Damaging often modifies abstract nouns like reputation or relationship, not just physical objects.

Words with a similar meaning

harmfuldetrimentalinjurious

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

Make it your own

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