easy
Smoke can be harmful to your lungs.
What does Harmful mean?
Harmful means causing hurt or damage.
Dictionary definition
Harmful means able to cause damage, hurt, or negative effects to people, animals, places, or things.
Example sentences
Harmful in a sentence
medium
Unkind words can be harmful to friendships.
hard
Harmful habits are easier to change with support and planning.
Writing practice
Ready to write your own? Study the examples, then practice harmful in a sentence with Sentence Builder checklist feedback.
Quick practice
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Practice the meaning of Harmful
Answer three quick questions about its meaning and related words.
Question 1 of 3
Practice 1
What does harmful mean?
Causing hurt or damage matches the meaning of the word.
Practice 2
Which word is closest in meaning to harmful?
Damaging is close in meaning to harmful.
Practice 3
Which word is an opposite or strong contrast for harmful?
Helpful is an opposite because it gives support instead of harm.
Practice complete
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You completed 3 questions.
Pronunciation coach
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Harmful
Voice settings
Sounds like
harm · ful · strongest beat: harm
Tap each sound part, then blend the whole word together.
Learn
WordHarmful.
Partadjective.
MeaningHarmful means causing hurt or damage.
ExampleExample: Smoke can be harmful to your lungs.
Word breakdown
2 syllables. Say each part, then blend the word.
- Syllables
- harm · ful
- Strongest beat
- harm
- Ending
- ful
- Tip
- Put a little extra energy on harm.
Your turn
Say Harmful
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Ready when you are.
Nice work—you practiced harmful.
Synonyms
Words like Harmful
Antonyms
Opposite words
Synonym practice
Want to practice harmful synonyms in context? Try a Synonym Search question like "Too much sun can be harmful to young plants," then compare close word choices. Practice harmful synonyms.
Word family
Harmful word family
Related words
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Student support
Understand Harmful
Hint for students
Harmful means causing hurt or damage.
Common mix-up
Harmful is not the same as helpful. Harmful means harmful means causing hurt or damage.
Try it in class or at home
Read this model sentence: Unkind words can be harmful to friendships. Clue words: unkind, words, friendships. Underline clue words that show why harmful fits instead of helpful. Now write one new sentence that shows harmful without using the word harmful. Ask: Does my sentence clearly show harmful?
Teacher prompt
Ask students to explain this model sentence: "Unkind words can be harmful to friendships." Why does harmful fit better than helpful?
Learning activities
Practice Harmful and explore more word games
Cards labelled “Practice HARMFUL” keep this word in focus. Explore cards open games with other words.
Practice HARMFUL
Sentence Builder
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Spell Hive
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Vocabulary Match
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Context Clue Challenge
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Use context clues
Practice HARMFUL
Synonym Search
Compare meanings in a question that includes HARMFUL.
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