VocabularyBasePractice words

Meaning & use

to hurt someone

phrase·Everyday

Last updated

UK/tə ˈhɜːt ˌsʌmwʌn/
US/tə ˈhɝːt ˌsʌmwʌn/

Meanings

  1. phrasefixed phrase

    To make another person feel emotional pain, sadness, or upset.

    Grammar: Used after 'to' or a modal verb; the verb 'hurt' never changes to 'hurted' in the past.

    Patterns

    • to hurt someone's feelings
    • to hurt someone badly
    • not mean to hurt someone

    She did not want to hurt someone she cared about, so she chose her words carefully.

    It is easy to hurt someone with a careless joke, even when you are only teasing.

    He apologized for hurting someone who had always supported him.

  2. phrasefixed phrase

    To cause physical injury or pain to another person.

    Grammar: Often used with adverbs like 'seriously' or 'badly'; the object is a person, not a thing.

    Patterns

    • to hurt someone badly
    • to hurt someone in an accident
    • to hurt someone on purpose

    The driver did not mean to hurt someone when he turned too quickly.

    A falling branch can hurt someone standing underneath it.

    The dog was frightened and might hurt someone if you get too close.

Common combinations

hurt someone's feelings
I did not mean to hurt your feelings with that comment.
hurt someone badly
He fell during the match and hurt someone badly by landing on them.
never hurt a fly
She is so gentle she would never hurt a fly.
get hurt
Be careful on the ice, or you will get hurt.
hurt someone's chances
A bad interview can hurt someone's chances of getting the job.

Synonyms and how they differ

wound
Stronger and more literary; it usually suggests a deep emotional injury rather than ordinary sadness.
upset
Milder and more common in speech; it means to make someone worried or unhappy, not necessarily deeply hurt.
offend
Focuses on breaking a social or moral rule so that someone feels insulted.
injure
Used mainly for physical harm, especially in medical or official contexts.

Opposites

comfortheal

Word family

hurt verb
The base verb meaning to cause pain or injury.
hurtful adjective
Describing words or actions that cause emotional pain.
hurtfully adverb
In a way that causes emotional pain.
hurt noun
A feeling of emotional pain or injury.

Commonly confused: to hurt someone or harm? to hurt someone or hurted?

to hurt someone vs harm

'Harm' is more formal and often used for damage to health, property, or rights, while 'hurt someone' is the everyday phrase for personal pain.

to hurt someone vs hurted

'Hurted' is not a real word; the past tense of 'hurt' is always 'hurt'.

Practice

Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “to hurt someone”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

Explore more words