Detrimental

//ˌdɛtɹɪˈmɛntəl// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Anything harmful.

    "The definition of a parasite is a microbe that lives in you or on you to its benefit and to your detriment. In other words, the detrimentals suck the life out of you."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Causing damage or harm.

    "Smoking tobacco can be detrimental to your health."

Adjective
  1. 1
    (sometimes followed by ‘to’) causing harm or injury wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
harmfulabandonedadverseantagonisticarrantbad

Example

More examples

"Mathematics is not detrimental to the appetite."

Etymology

From Medieval Latin *dētrīmentālis, from Latin dētrīmentum (“harm”), from dēterō (“to rub off, wear”), from dē- (“down, away”) + terō (“to rub or grab”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.