Meaning & use
emotionally hurting
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Meanings
phrase
Causing someone to feel deep sadness, rejection, or distress rather than physical pain.
Grammar: Used like an adjective before a noun or after 'be': an emotionally hurting remark; the remark was emotionally hurting.
Patterns
- be emotionally hurting
- emotionally hurting words
- emotionally hurting someone
His cold reply was emotionally hurting, though he never raised his voice.
She did not realize how emotionally hurting her joke was to him.
The review was emotionally hurting for a young writer to read.
phraseinformal
Suffering from emotional pain; feeling hurt inside.
Grammar: Usually follows 'be', 'feel', or 'seem': she is emotionally hurting.
Patterns
- be emotionally hurting
- feel emotionally hurting
- still be emotionally hurting
After the divorce he was emotionally hurting for months.
You can be emotionally hurting even when everything looks fine.
The team did not notice that their coach was emotionally hurting.
Common combinations
- deeply emotionally hurting
- He was deeply emotionally hurting after the breakup.
- emotionally hurting someone
- She apologized for emotionally hurting someone she loved.
- still emotionally hurting
- Months later, she was still emotionally hurting.
- emotionally hurting words
- Angry people often say emotionally hurting words they regret.
- leave someone emotionally hurting
- The sudden silence left him emotionally hurting and confused.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hurtful
- More common and more natural before a noun (a hurtful comment); 'emotionally hurting' is wordier and often used after 'be'.
- painful
- Can describe physical or emotional pain, so it is broader and less specific than 'emotionally hurting'.
- wounding
- Stronger and more literary; it suggests lasting damage to someone's confidence or pride.
Opposites
Word family
- emotion noun
- A strong feeling such as anger, fear, or love.
- emotional adjective
- Relating to feelings, or easily moved by them.
- emotionally adverb
- In a way that concerns or shows feelings.
- hurt verb
- To cause pain, either physical or emotional.
Commonly confused: emotionally hurting or emotionally hurtful?
emotionally hurting vs emotionally hurtful
'Emotionally hurtful' is the more standard order for describing a remark that hurts feelings; 'emotionally hurting' is more often used to describe a person who is in pain.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'emotionally hurting' correctly.
Choose one answer.
After 'be', the phrase describes the person's state, so 'was emotionally hurting' is correct. Option 1 is missing the verb 'was', and options 2 and 3 add an object or preposition that the phrase does not take.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “emotionally hurting”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.