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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.

France's public health watchdog last year said platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram were detrimental to adolescents, particularly girls, though it was not the sole reason for their declining mental health.

From Barron's

A brief statement from the Bulls said the 24-year-old had been waived by the team for "conduct detrimental to the team."

From Barron's

“If you believe that something is detrimental to the economic well-being of New York City, you need to be vocal about it,” Fulop, 49 years old, said in an interview.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Both types of investors can be detrimental to retirement wealth by resulting in lower investment returns.”

From MarketWatch

Gemma thinks staying with her father was "unbelievably detrimental", saying it had almost been "a life sentence" for her.

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.