Alternative forms

• hurtfull (archaic)

Etymology

From hurt +‎ -fulCategory:English adjectives suffixed with -ful#HURTFUL.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhɜːtfʊl/, /ˈhɜːtfəl/Category:English 2-syllable words#HURTFULCategory:English 2-syllable words#HURTFULCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#HURTFUL
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈhɜɹtfʊl/, /ˈhɜɹtfəl/Category:English 2-syllable words#HURTFULCategory:English 2-syllable words#HURTFULCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#HURTFUL

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#HURTFUL

Adjective

hurtful (comparative more hurtful, superlative most hurtful)Category:English lemmas#HURTFULCategory:English adjectives#HURTFULCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#HURTFULCategory:Pages with entries#HURTFULCategory:Pages with 1 entry#HURTFUL

1. Tending to impair or damage; injurious; occasioning loss or injury.

   Synonyms: pernicious, harmful; see also Thesaurus:harmful

   • 1649, John Milton, Eikonoklastes:

     A good principle not rightly understood may prove as hurtful as a bad.

     Category:English terms with quotations#HURTFUL

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
   • 1890, George Henry Rohé, Text-book of hygiene:

     Well-cultivated soils are often healthy; nor at present has it been proved that the use of manure is hurtful.

     Category:English terms with quotations#HURTFUL

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
2. Tending to hurt someone's feelings; insulting; lacerating.
   • 2000, Michael Paymar, Violent No More:

     Both men and women can be emotionally abusive. Even in the healthiest relationships, people occasionally reach down into their personal bags of known remembrances, past disagreements, and unresolved issues, and fling hurtful comments at their partners.

     Category:English terms with quotations#HURTFUL

   • 2006, Ryan Phillips, Fall from Grace:

     Better yet, maybe she should call and apologize for all of the rude comments she spewed in the midst of her anger—hurtful comments that should never be spoken between a wife and her husband.

     Category:English terms with quotations#HURTFUL

   • 2012, Robin Leigh, Dear Dadd, page 38:

     This mentality made me an incredibly hurtful person, but I wasn't concerned with how others felt about me.

     Category:English terms with quotations#HURTFUL

   • 2025 November 16, Joanna Walters, quoting Marjorie Taylor Greene, “Marjorie Taylor Greene says Trump’s remarks hurtful but hopes they can make up”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     She told CNN’s State of the Union show: “His [Donald Trump's] remarks, of course, have been hurtful … the most hurtful thing he said, which is absolutely untrue, is he called me a traitor and that is so extremely wrong.”

     Category:English terms with quotations#HURTFUL

References

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “hurtful”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “hurtful”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “hurtful”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• ruthful