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REFERENCE

hurt

v. · adj. · n.
US //ˈhɝt// UK //hˈɜːt// hurt
Irregular verb past hurt past participle hurt
  1. 1 to cause physical pain (v.)
    A2 Elementary

    to cause physical pain or injury to a person or animal.

    to inflict physical pain or bodily injury upon a person or animal.

    Example

    Be careful with that knife or you might hurt yourself while cooking.

    Example

    The athlete was careful not to overextend his knee, fearing he might hurt himself again before the championship finals.

    Usage

    This verb is often used reflexively with 'myself', 'yourself', etc.
  2. 2 to feel pain (v.)
    A2 Elementary

    to feel pain in a part of your body.

    to be the source of physical pain; used in a stative sense to describe a bodily sensation.

    Example

    My feet really hurt after walking around the city all day.

    Example

    His lower back began to hurt intensely after he spent the afternoon moving heavy furniture into the new apartment.

    Usage

    Often used in the progressive 'is hurting' to describe a current sensation.
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  1. 3 to upset someone (v.)
    B1 Intermediate

    to make someone feel unhappy or upset.

    to cause emotional distress, sadness, or psychological pain to another person.

    Example

    I didn't mean to hurt your feelings when I criticized your painting.

    Example

    She was deeply hurt by his cold response to her news, as she had expected him to be supportive.

    Usage

    Commonly used in the phrase 'hurt someone's feelings'.
  2. 4 to damage or harm (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    to have a bad effect on something, like a business or a plan.

    to damage, impair, or have a negative impact on a situation, reputation, or entity.

    Example

    The high interest rates are starting to hurt small businesses in the area.

    Example

    The scandal significantly hurt the company's reputation, leading to a sharp decline in share prices over the following months.
  3. 5 injured or upset (adj.)
    B1 Intermediate

    feeling physical pain or being emotionally upset.

    suffering from physical injury or emotional distress.

    Example

    He had a hurt expression on his face after they laughed at his idea.

    Example

    The medic tended to the hurt passengers while waiting for more ambulances to arrive at the scene.

    Usage

    Can be used before a noun or after a linking verb like 'feel'.
  4. 6 emotional pain (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    a feeling of unhappiness because of something bad that happened.

    psychological suffering or the feeling of being treated unfairly or unkindly.

    Example

    It took many years for her to get over the hurt of the divorce.

    Example

    The poem captures the deep hurt and betrayal felt by the soldiers who returned to a country that had forgotten them.

    Usage

    Usually uncountable when referring to a general state of distress.
Etymology 1

From Middle English hurten, hirten, hertan (“to injure, scathe, knock together”), from Old Northern French hurter ("to ram into, strike, collide with"; > Modern French heurter), perhaps from Frankish hūrt (“a battering ram”), cognate with Welsh hwrdd (“ram”) and Cornish hordh (“ram”). Compare Proto-Germanic hrūtaną, hreutaną (“to fall, beat”), from Proto-Indo-European krew- (“to fall, beat, smash, strike, break”); however, the earliest instances of the verb in Middle English are as old as those found in Old French, which leads to the possibility that the Middle English word may instead be a reflex of an unrecorded Old English *hyrtan, which later merged with the Old French verb. Germanic cognates include Dutch horten (“to push against, strike”), Middle Low German hurten (“to run at, collide with”), Middle High German hurten (“to push, bump, attack, storm, invade”), Old Norse hrútr (“battering ram”). Alternate etymology traces Old Northern French hurter rather to Old Norse hrútr (“ram (male sheep)”), lengthened-grade variant of hjǫrtr (“stag”), from Proto-Germanic herutuz, herutaz (“hart, male deer”), which would relate it to English hart (“male deer”). See hart.

Etymology 2

Unclear. Suggestions include: from its resemblance to a blue hurtleberry, or from French heurt (a blow, leaving a blue bruise), the latter of which would make it a doublet of hurt Etymology 1; compare the theories about golpe (“purple roundel”)).

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