# hurtful

/ˈhɝtfəɫ/ (US) · /hˈɜːtfəl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/hurtful
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. causing emotional pain

adjective · CEFR B1

describes words or actions that make you feel sad, upset, or insulted.

For teachers: causing emotional distress, psychological pain, or offense to another person.

- It was very hurtful when he forgot my birthday after I helped him with his.
- The manager's hurtful comments about her performance were delivered in front of the entire team, causing significant embarrassment.

Usage: Commonly used to describe remarks, comments, or personal behavior.

Teaching tip: Learners often confuse this with 'painful'; 'hurtful' is almost always emotional, while 'painful' is usually physical.

### 2. causing damage or harm

adjective · CEFR C1 · Formal

causing physical harm or damage to something.

For teachers: tending to cause injury, impairment, or damage to a physical entity or abstract system.

- The new law could be hurtful to small businesses in the city.
- Environmentalists argued that the proposed dam would be hurtful to the local ecosystem by disrupting natural water flow.

Usage: In modern English, 'harmful' or 'damaging' is much more common for this sense.

Teaching tip: This sense is less common in modern speech; advise students to use 'harmful' for physical or economic damage.

## Examples

- It was very hurtful when you ignored my message.
- She apologized for her hurtful comments, realizing later how much they had upset her best friend.
- While the criticism was intended to be constructive, the blunt delivery made it feel unnecessarily hurtful to the young artist who was already struggling with self-doubt.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.