detrimental

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

• IPA^(key): /ˌdɛtɹɪˈmɛntəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

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detrimental (comparative more detrimental, superlative most detrimental)

1. Causing damage or harm.

   Synonyms: harmful, damaging, injurious; see also Thesaurus:harmful

   Antonym: beneficial

   Smoking tobacco can be detrimental to your health.

   • 1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “(please specify the page)”, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. , volume I, London: Henry Colburn, , published 1842, →OCLC, pages 142–143:

     "The fact is," continued he, "Lady Anne fears that my visits here may prove detrimental to what she considers your best interests. I thought myself an old, safe friend; but, as that cannot be explained to every body, she fears that I may keep off other and more eligible lovers."

   • 2023 July 26, 'Industry Insider', “Ticket offices RIP?”, in RAIL, number 988, page 68:

     Decisions made at the DfT inevitably reflect a London-centric experience, with a comparison being made with the closure of ticket offices throughout the London Underground network. This is not judged to have been detrimental, but there is a simple zonal fares system that is hardly comparable with the range of ticket types used on the national rail network.

• detriment

detrimental (plural detrimentals)

1. Anything harmful.
   • 2012, Dr. Frank Springob, Bugs in My Brain, Poison on My Plate, page 137:

     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.

   • 2022, M. E. Braddon, Beyond These Voices:

     I'm afraid it may be the detrimentals, the poets, and æsthetes, and impressionist painters, who will rave about her.

• “detrimental”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “detrimental”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

• IPA^(key): /detɾimenˈtal/
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: de‧tri‧men‧tal

detrimental m or f (masculine and feminine plural detrimentales)

1. detrimental