harmful
adjective
Simple meaning
Causing or capable of causing harm.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
hahrmfuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhɑɹmfəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Causing or capable of causing harm
“Too much sun is harmful to the skin.”
Causing or likely to cause harm or damage; injurious.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
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More ways to use harmful
- “Too much sun is harmful to the skin.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Causing harm in a stealthy, often gradual, manner.
Causing much harm in a subtle way.
Causing damage or harm.
Acting (especially causing harm) in a stealthy, often gradual, manner.
Involving or causing danger or risk.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Not causing or capable of causing harm.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: causing or capable of causing harm
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.