injury

injury 1 Injury, hurt, damage, harm, mischief mean the act or the result of inflicting on a person or thing something that causes loss or pain.

Injury is the comprehensive term referable to an act or to a result of that act which involves a violation of a right or of health, freedom, and soundness of body or mind, or causes a partial or entire loss of something of value

{

an injury to his eyes

}

{

an injury to his reputation

}

{

forgive an injury

}

{

the very essence of civil liberty . . . consists in the right of every individual to claim the protection of laws, whenever he receives an injury— John Marshall

}

{

mental or emotional upset is just as truly an injury to the body as a bone fracture, a burn or a bacterial infection— G. W. Gray

}

{

a great injury could be done to our nation ... if this political campaign were to descend to the level of competitive threats and veiled hints— A. E. Stevenson

}

Hurt, applies basically to a physical injury (as a wound, lesion, or contusion) that results from a hit, a stab, or a blow

{

get him to bed, and let his hurt be looked to— Shak.

}

{

rattleweed, made into a tincture, is better than arnica for hurts of every sort— Emily Holt

}

In extended use hurt applies chiefly to an act or result that involves pain, suffering, or loss; thus, a person whose rights as an heir have been violated may be said to suffer an injury but not a hurt; a person whose reputation has been damaged by a false rumor has suffered both an injury to his business and a hurt to his feelings; a dentist in drilling a tooth may cause a hurt, but not commonly an injury

{

leaving forever to the aggressor the choice of time and place and means to cause greatest hurt to us— Eisenhower

}

Damage applies to an injury that involves loss (as in property, in value, or in usefulness)

{

the fire caused great damage to the house

}

{

repair the damage done to the cathedral by the bombs

}

{

deliver Helen, and all damage else—as honor, loss of time, travail, expense . . . shall be struck off— Shak.

}

Harm (usually without an article) is referable to an evil that injures or may injure; often it suggests a consequent suffering (as grief or shame)

{

I meant no harm

}

{

almost every evening he saw Lucy. The inexperienced little wife apprehended no harm in his visits— Meredith

}

{

the men were terrified of Yusuf's cruelty, and wanted to retreat out of harm's way—Forester

}

Mischief carries a stronger reference to the person or thing that works harm or is capable of inflicting injury; it applies either to the harm or injury that results from an agent or agency

{

one failure led to another, suspicion became general, and the mischief was done— Todd

}

{

that's the mischief of the Modernists .... They don't claim that the Divine revelation has been supplanted or even added to, but that it has been amplified— Mackenzie

}

or occasionally to the aspect of a situation that causes harm or vexation

{

the mischief is that people—especially the young—do not confine themselves to one cocktail— Bennett

}

{

and faith, 'tis pleasant till 'tis past: the mischief is that 'twill not last— Housman

}

Analogous words: *distress, suffering, agony, misery: *pain, pang: violation, transgression, trespass, infringement (see BREACH): detriment (see corresponding adjective at PERNICIOUS): *evil, ill

2 wrong, injustice, grievance

Analogous words: see those at INJURY 1