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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Harm: Meaning, Examples, and Common Collocations (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：damage or injury (harm)

harm 🔊

/hɑːrm/

n., v.

Damage or injury to someone's body, mind, or feelings.

Child's hand with burn mark from candle flame showing physical harm

damage or injury 🔊

➕

/ˈdæmɪdʒ ɔːr ˈɪndʒəri/

n., v.

Physical or emotional damage, hurt, or negative effect caused to someone or something.

📁 Category：Physical & Mental Health 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Old English 'hearm' (pain, injury), cognate with Old High German 'harm' (grief, pain); Proto-Germanic *harmaz.

💡 Mnemonic

Think: 'H-A-R-M' as 'Hurt And Ruin Many' — a quick reminder that harm involves causing pain or damage.

📖 Example

Playing with fire can cause serious harm to young children. 🔊 Playing with fire can cause serious harm to young children.

🔗 Collocations

do harm – to cause damage or injury

cause harm – to be the source of damage or injury

come to harm – to be injured or damaged

🔄 Synonyms

damage (n.) – Physical harm that impairs value or function

injury (n.) – Physical or emotional wound or damage

hurt (n.) – Physical pain or emotional distress

🚫 Antonyms

benefit (n.) – An advantage or positive effect

safety (n.) – The condition of being free from harm or risk

🌱 Derivatives

harmful (adj.) – Causing or capable of causing harm

harmless (adj.) – Not able or likely to cause harm

unharmed (adj.) – Not harmed; safe

📖 Cultural Story

The word 'harm' has been used since Old English times to denote physical or emotional injury. In modern legal and ethical discourse, 'do no harm' is a core principle in medicine, law, and technology, emphasizing the importance of avoiding damage to others.

Meaning 2：hurt or damage (harm)

harm 🔊

/hɑːrm/

n., v.

To hurt or damage someone or something.

Person spraying pesticide near butterflies indicating environmental harm

hurt or damage 🔊

➕

/hɜːrt ɔːr ˈdæmɪdʒ/

n., v.

To physically injure, emotionally wound, or cause damage to someone or something.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

We must protect the environment and not harm it with pollution. 🔊 We must protect the environment and not harm it with pollution.

🔗 Collocations

harm someone's feelings – to upset or offend someone emotionally

harm the environment – to cause ecological damage

harm one's reputation – to damage how others view a person

🔄 Synonyms

hurt (v.) – To cause physical pain or emotional distress

damage (v.) – To inflict physical or functional harm on something

injure (v.) – To cause bodily or mental harm

🚫 Antonyms

protect (v.) – To keep safe from harm or damage

heal (v.) – To make healthy or whole again after injury

benefit (v.) – To provide an advantage or positive effect

🌱 Derivatives

harming (v.) – Present participle of harm; causing harm

harmed (v.) – Past tense of harm; suffered injury

harmer (n.) – A person or thing that causes harm