hurt Hear it!

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hurt definition

hurt (hʉrt)

transitive verb hurt, hurting hurt′·ing

  1. to cause physical pain or injury to; wound
  2. to harm or damage in some way; be bad for
  3. to cause mental distress or pain to; wound the feelings of; offend

Etymology: ME hurten, to knock, hurt < OFr hurter, to push, thrust, hit, prob. < Frank *hurt, a thrust, blow (as by a ram); akin to ON hrūtr, a ram

intransitive verb

  1. to cause injury, damage, or pain
  2. to give or have the sensation of pain; be sore a leg that hurts
  3. to be a source of inconvenience, difficulty, or trouble

noun

  1. the act or an instance of hurting; pain, injury, or wound
  2. harm, wrong, or damage
  3. something that wounds the feelings

adjective

injured; damaged

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms hurt idiom

hurt Synonyms

hurt

modif.

wounded, injured, damaged, harmed, marred, impaired, shot, warped, struck, contused, bruised, stricken, battered, buffeted, mauled, hit, stabbed, mutilated, lacerated, disfigured, blemished, pained, in pain, disturbed, suffering, distressed, tortured, agonized, in a serious state, unhappy, slightly wounded, grazed, scratched, severely wounded, sorely hurt, nicked*, winged*; see also wounded.

Antonyms aided, helped, assisted.


hurt

n.

  1. A wound

    blow, gash, ache; see injury 1, pain 1.

  2. Damage

    ill-treatment, harm, persecution; see damage 1, disaster, misfortune 1.


hurt

v.

  1. To cause pain

    cramp, squeeze, cut, bruise, tear, pain, torment, try, afflict, kick, puncture, do violence, slap, abuse, administer punishment, flog, whip, whack, torture, gnaw, stab, pierce, maul, cut up, harm, damage, injure, wound, lacerate, harrow, convulse, prick, sting, do evil, chafe, bite, flail, give pain, grate, martyr, inflict pain, rasp, excruciate, burn, grind, rack, wring, nip, fret, crucify, martyrize, tweak, gripe, agonize, thrash, punch, prolong the agony, pinch, gall, spank, chastise, punish, pummel, lace, flail, buffet, drub, smite, trounce, scourge, flagellate, lambaste, baste, lash, cudgel, bastinado, belabor, birch, cane, switch, sandbag, cause pain, anguish, distress, displease, discommode, discompose, incommode, put out, give someone the works*, give no quarter*, barb the dart*, work over*, lay up*, wrack up*, wallop*, blackjack*, belt*, slug*; see also beat 2.

    Antonyms comfort*, ease*, soothe. *

  2. To harm

    damage, maltreat, injure, spoil; see damage 1, destroy 1.

  3. To distress

    worry, outrage, trouble; see bother 2, 3, disturb 2.

  4. To give a feeling of pain

    be sore, ache, throb, pain, be tender, be bruised, sting, bother, burn, irritate.

hurt implies a wounding physically or emotionally or a causing of any kind of harm or damage the rumors hurt his business; injure implies the marring of the appearance, health, soundness, etc. of a person or thing injured pride; harm more strongly suggests the pain or distress caused he wouldn't harm a fly; damage stresses the loss, as in value, usefulness, etc., resulting from an injury damaged goods; to impair something is to cause it to deteriorate in quality or to lessen in value, strength, etc. impaired hearing; spoil implies such serious impairment of a thing as to destroy its value, usefulness, etc. rain spoiled the party, the canned food was spoiled


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

hurt Usage Examples

Object

  • bridesmaid: This unfortunately often hurts the bridesmaid 's chances of looking pretty during the ceremony.

Noun used with modifier

  • Everybody: Had there been the time or the inclination, Alex could have taken Tainted Love or Everybody Hurts.

Preposition: like

  • hell: Wish me luck, cause it hurts like hell!

Used with why or when

  • when: Deafness: the facts Looking after your ears Why do my ears hurt when I fly?

Preposition: in

  • collision: In 2004, 39 % of all child pedestrians hurt in a collision on a non built-up road were killed or seriously injured.
hurt usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

hurt quotes

Nothing doth more hurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wise.

-Bacon, Francis,Viscount St Albans

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw likethe ox. And thesucking child shall playonthehole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice'den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the L, as the waters cover the sea.

-Bible (Old Testament)

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the L.

-Bible (Old Testament)

hurt quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"hurt." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/hurt>

APA Style

hurt. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/hurt

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