damaging
- 01 B1 Intermediate
adj.causing harm or injury to someone or something.
adj.causing physical, emotional, or abstract harm; often used to describe effects on health, the environment, or reputations.
Simple“Smoking has a damaging effect on your lungs and overall health.”
In context“The leaked documents proved highly damaging to the senator's reputation, leading to a sharp decline in his approval ratings just weeks before the election.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
n.the act of breaking or hurting something.
n.the action or process of inflicting harm or injury; functions as a gerund.
Simple“The accidental damaging of the painting was a tragedy for the museum.”
In context“The systematic damaging of the ecosystem through industrial runoff has led to a significant loss of local biodiversity over the last decade.”
“Settlers often establish outposts near Palestinian communities and then harass residents – cutting utilities, damaging olive groves and livestock, and mounting regular attacks – until families leave.”
“The recommendation to split the MMR vaccine when that is not technically possible could be especially damaging.”
From damage + -ing.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.