injure

verb

ˈin-jər How to pronounce injure (audio)
Definition of injurenext
1
as in to damage
to cause bodily damage to injured himself while skiing

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to mar
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of the agent's treachery has injured our national security for years to come

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word injure distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of injure are damage, harm, hurt, impair, and mar. While all these words mean "to affect injuriously," injure implies the inflicting of anything detrimental to one's looks, comfort, health, or success.

badly injured in an accident

When might damage be a better fit than injure?

The words damage and injure are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, damage suggests injury that lowers value or impairs usefulness.

a table damaged in shipping

When is it sensible to use harm instead of injure?

Although the words harm and injure have much in common, harm often stresses the inflicting of pain, suffering, or loss.

careful not to harm the animals

When can hurt be used instead of injure?

In some situations, the words hurt and injure are roughly equivalent. However, hurt implies inflicting a wound to the body or to the feelings.

hurt by their callous remarks

When would impair be a good substitute for injure?

The words impair and injure can be used in similar contexts, but impair suggests a making less complete or efficient by deterioration or diminution.

years of smoking had impaired his health

When could mar be used to replace injure?

The meanings of mar and injure largely overlap; however, mar applies to injury that spoils perfection (as of a surface) or causes disfigurement.

the text is marred by many typos

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 injure No officers were injured, according to the news release. —Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 7 Apr. 2025 More than 320 people have been injured in the past five years and at least nine have died. —Katie Moore, Kansas City Star, 7 Apr. 2025 One person was injured and transported to Shock Trauma, fire officials said. —Michelle Deal-Zimmerman, Baltimore Sun, 28 Mar. 2025 Two people were killed and five injured in strikes in Kherson overnight, regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said Thursday. —David Brennan, ABC News, 27 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for injure
Recent Examples of Synonyms for injure
  1. damage
  2. mar
  3. hurt
  4. cripple
  5. wound
  6. weaken
  7. bruise
  8. impair
Verb
  • Their son and daughter-in-law, Cameron Bott, 35, and his wife, Diana, 36, whose nearby home was damaged in the tornado, initiated a discussion about starting a GoFundMe to offset potential insurance shortfalls in rebuilding the gas station.
    — Tammy Ljungblad, Kansas City Star, 9 Apr. 2025
  • In addition, these same poisons can damage a cell’s DNA which can allow that cell to grow out of control and cause cancer.
    — Omer Awan, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
Definition of damage
Verb
  • The dashboard was part of an extended pressure campaign from Buttigieg, who, during his tenure in the Biden administration, publicly challenged the major carriers to improve service and transparency—particularly after a summer marred by cancellations and flight delays.
    — Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 8 Apr. 2025
  • What to Know Artists like Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift have previously clashed with ticketing platforms, with Swift's 2022 tour marred by widespread ticket access issues.
    — Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Apr. 2025
Definition of mar
Verb
  • Draisaitl has played three games since getting hurt against Utah on March 18.
    — Daniel Nugent-Bowman, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
  • By the time a tooth starts hurting, the problem is usually more advanced, requiring more extensive treatment.
    — Towncare Dental, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2025
Definition of hurt
Verb
  • About six weeks ago, hackers crippled the computer systems of the TV and mobile phone provider Dish Network.
    — Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2023
  • Oakland Mills Coach: Chris Brewington Last season: Class 2A state champion Outlook: Losing the talent Oakland Mills did from last year’s outdoor season would cripple most programs, but the Scorpions have reloaded.
    — Anthony Maluso, Baltimore Sun, 22 Mar. 2023
Definition of cripple
Verb
  • In 2013, three people were killed and hundreds were wounded during the Boston Marathon bombings, when two men detonated homemade bombs at the race's finish line.
    — Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA Today, 19 Apr. 2025
  • Madrid, whose calendar is now rather less full, have wounded egos to repair.
    — Jack Lang, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2025
Definition of wound
Verb
  • Agreeing to a pick swap with the Lynx weakened the value of the pick that the Sky traded away.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025
  • One by one, the sectors defect, and, eventually, the leader may weaken and their government may fall.
    — Julia Angwin, New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2025
Definition of weaken
Verb
  • In surgery, certain risks are universal—infection, hematoma and seroma (collections of blood or fluid under the skin), swelling, bruising, pain, and poor healing, to name a few.
    — Jolene Edgar, Allure, 10 Apr. 2025
  • The band is wide enough to avoid creating rolls, while not bruising my armpits with underwire.
    — Andrea Jordan, Glamour, 10 Apr. 2025
Definition of bruise
Verb
  • Each has a private patio, but they are slightly raised off the ground, and much less ideal for the mobility impaired.
    — Maya Kachroo-Levine, Travel + Leisure, 18 Apr. 2025
  • In particular, smoking, vaping, drinking alcohol, skipping sleep, using recreational drugs (like marijuana), and downing a ton of sugar may all contribute to an excess of those free-wheeling free radicals and impair your body’s ability to defend against them.
    — Erica Sloan, SELF, 18 Apr. 2025
Definition of impair

Browse Nearby Words

injunctions
injure
injured
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Injure.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/injure. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on injure

Nglish: Translation of injure for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Words in Disguise: Do these seem familiar?

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

'Blue Moon,' 'Wolf Moon,' and Other Moons to Look for Throughout the Year
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name that thing flower edition
Name That Flower Can you tell the difference between a lilac and a...
See All