Synonym Chooser

How is the word baneful different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of baneful are deleterious, detrimental, noxious, and pernicious. While all these words mean "exceedingly harmful," baneful implies injury through poisoning or destroying.

the baneful notion that discipline destroys creativity

In what contexts can deleterious take the place of baneful?

While in some cases nearly identical to baneful, deleterious applies to what has an often unsuspected harmful effect.

a diet found to have deleterious effects

When is detrimental a more appropriate choice than baneful?

The words detrimental and baneful are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, detrimental implies obvious harmfulness to something specified.

the detrimental effects of excessive drinking

Where would noxious be a reasonable alternative to baneful?

The words noxious and baneful can be used in similar contexts, but noxious applies to what is both offensive and injurious to the health of a body or mind.

noxious chemical fumes

When is it sensible to use pernicious instead of baneful?

Although the words pernicious and baneful have much in common, pernicious implies irreparable harm done through evil or insidious corrupting or undermining.

the claim that pornography has a pernicious effect on society

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of baneful The baneful effects of war on public speech and freedoms in Russia have been well recorded. Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Dec. 2022 The impact these soldiers had on the South was baneful. New York Times, 14 Feb. 2022 To home in on what gives these peculiar primates their baneful bite, Fry and his colleagues collected the underarm secretions from a handful of wild slow lorises housed at a research station in Indonesia and isolated the proteins within. Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Feb. 2020 We are mired in a baneful pandemic unlike anything endured for a century, parsing our lives into 14-day increments of health and survival — or not. Peter M. Leschak, Star Tribune, 31 July 2020 This resulted in all the baneful consequences of the French Revolution, which Edmund Burke so brilliantly exposed in his Reflections on the Revolution in France. Jaithirth Rao, Quartz India, 4 Nov. 2019 Chaos convincingly ebbs and flows in this rattling film, a baneful tide lapping at some of history’s most troubled shores. Richard Lawson, HWD, 20 July 2017 Chaos convincingly ebbs and flows in this rattling film, a baneful tide lapping at some of history’s most troubled shores. Richard Lawson, vanityfair.com, 20 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for baneful
Adjective
  • The debate over the law centers on balancing accountability for harmful content with the risks of censorship and stifled innovation.
    Daryl Lim, The Conversation, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Shiny and minty, these balms provide a gloss-like effect while protecting your lips from the sun’s harmful rays.
    Jillian Dara, Travel + Leisure, 9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • In the study, the researchers measured patients’ impulse control behavior disorders, excessive daytime sleepiness, blood pressure changes and weight changes, and found that the adverse effects linked to tavapadon were no different from those who received a placebo.
    Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 18 Apr. 2025
  • So far, Lilly said the adverse effects of its new pill are consistent with GLP-1s, a class of medications primarily used to treat type 2 diabetes.
    Jonathan Limehouse, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Archer: Not having a rink in L.A. has been really detrimental to the skating community.
    Kailyn Brown, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2025
  • Furthermore, the study highlights cultural contingencies, indicating that the detrimental effects of workplace aggression are amplified in cultures characterized by high individualism and masculinity.
    Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Prioritising one competition in favour of another is a dangerous game to play in any case when the stakes are so high.
    Mark Critchley, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2025
  • The company highlights one type of attack that is now targeting users and which is especially dangerous.
    Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The storms are threatening large hail and damaging wind gusts up to 60 mph.
    Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Apr. 2025
  • But in recent years, lung disease for miners has become a major concern again, Laney says, because coal increasingly comes from mines embedded in sandstone, and which generates dust that's 20 times more damaging to lungs than coal.
    Yuki Noguchi, NPR, 9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • That means more time for Rojas, who has shown more bad than good to begin this season.
    Matt Gelb, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2025
  • The uneasiness roiling markets also manifested in shopper surveys, one of which last week showed worse attitudes about the economy than at any point during the Great Recession.
    Max Zahn, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Baneful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/baneful. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

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