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Synonyms

detrimental

American  
[de-truh-men-tl] / ˌdɛ trəˈmɛn tl /

adjective

  1. causing detriment, as loss or injury; damaging; harmful.

noun

  1. a detrimental person or thing.

detrimental British  
/ ˌdɛtrɪˈmɛntəl /

adjective

  1. harmful; injurious; prejudicial

    smoking can be detrimental to health
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • detrimentality noun
  • detrimentally adverb
  • detrimentalness noun
  • nondetrimental adjective
  • nondetrimentally adverb
  • predetrimental adjective
  • undetrimental adjective
  • undetrimentally adverb

Etymology

Origin of detrimental

First recorded in 1650–60; detriment + -al 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“This serves as a reminder that any slowdown in AI growth will have a detrimental impact on the economies in North Asia, especially South Korea and Taiwan,” said the ANZ Research team.

From The Wall Street Journal

"Being famous is an important factor influencing longevity and underscores the need for targeted interventions to mitigate its detrimental effects on longevity."

From BBC

The evidence that AI could be detrimental to some people’s brains is growing, according to experts.

From Los Angeles Times

Baroness Hallett said the relationships between ministers were "poor" and "detrimental to good decision making".

From BBC

"The relationships between ministers in Northern Ireland was poor. This kind of culture is detrimental to good decision making."

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.