hurtful

hurtful — adjective

1. Describes words, actions, or behaviour that make a person feel sad, upset, or em

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

Describes words, actions, or behaviour that make a person feel sad, upset, or emotionally wounded.

Example

Lakshmi felt that her brother's comment about her cooking was deeply hurtful.

find + noun + hurtful

The email contained hurtful remarks that made several team members want to quit.

hurtful + remarks / words / comments

Common collocations
  • hurtful comment
  • hurtful remark
  • hurtful words
  • hurtful behaviour
  • hurtful thing
  • deeply hurtful
  • find something hurtful
Synonyms
  • unkind

    softer and broader; 'hurtful' focuses on the emotional result, while 'unkind' describes the behaviour itself

  • offensive

    stronger and often implies the person intended to cause offence or violated a social norm

  • insulting

    specifically about words or actions that show disrespect and are meant to belittle someone

  • cutting

    informal; suggests a remark is sharp, direct, and deliberately wounding

Antonyms
  • kind

    the direct opposite — a kind remark makes someone feel good, not sad

  • supportive

    implies active emotional care and encouragement, not just the absence of hurt

Grammar Patterns

be + hurtful

find + noun + hurtful

hurtful + noun

Usage Note

Used almost exclusively for emotional pain, not physical injury. Compare 'harmful', which covers both physical and emotional damage.

Common Mistakes

The broken glass was hurtful.
The broken glass was harmful / dangerous.
'hurtful' describes emotional pain, not physical injury.

Word family

  • hurt
    verbA2
  • hurt
    adjectiveA2
  • hurtfully
    adverbB2
  • hurtfulness
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe language or behaviour that causes emotional distress, but they differ in severity and intent. 'Hurtful' focuses on the emotional impact — whether or not the speaker meant to cause pain, the result is sadness or hurt. 'Unkind' is gentler and describes a lack of kindness in the behaviour itself, without assuming a strong emotional wound. 'Offensive' implies a violation of social norms or personal dignity — someone is offended because they feel disrespected. 'Insulting' is the most deliberate: an insult is intended to belittle or humiliate. A comment can be hurtful without being insulting (e.g. a careless remark about someone's efforts), and an insult is almost always hurtful. For example: 'It was unkind to ignore her' (mild); 'His remarks about her accent were hurtful' (emotional result); 'They found the joke offensive' (norms violated); 'He made an insulting gesture' (deliberate disrespect).

hurtful ↗unkind ↗offensive ↗insulting

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • hurtful to someone
  • find something hurtful

Prepositions

Etymology

GermanicOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Formed in Middle English by adding the suffix -ful ('full of') to the verb hurt ('to injure, wound'). The suffix turns the action into an adjective meaning 'tending to cause or capable of causing' the action. The verb hurt itself entered English through Old French hurter ('to strike, knock against'), and is thought to come from a Germanic source.