Definition of BANEFUL (original) (raw)
1
: productive of destruction or woe : seriously harmful
Synonyms
Choose the Right Synonym for baneful
the claim that pornography has a pernicious effect on society
baneful implies injury through poisoning or destroying.
the baneful notion that discipline destroys creativity
noxious applies to what is both offensive and injurious to the health of a body or mind.
deleterious applies to what has an often unsuspected harmful effect.
a diet found to have deleterious effects
detrimental implies obvious harmfulness to something specified.
the detrimental effects of excessive drinking
Examples of baneful in a Sentence
The legislation could have a baneful effect on the poor. the baneful consequences of war
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The baneful effects of war on public speech and freedoms in Russia have been well recorded. —
Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Dec. 2022 The impact these soldiers had on the South was baneful. —New York Times, 14 Feb. 2022 To home in on what gives these peculiar primates their baneful bite, Fry and his colleagues collected the underarm secretions from a handful of wild slow lorises housed at a research station in Indonesia and isolated the proteins within. —Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Feb. 2020 We are mired in a baneful pandemic unlike anything endured for a century, parsing our lives into 14-day increments of health and survival — or not. —Peter M. Leschak, Star Tribune, 31 July 2020 This resulted in all the baneful consequences of the French Revolution, which Edmund Burke so brilliantly exposed in his Reflections on the Revolution in France. —Jaithirth Rao, Quartz India, 4 Nov. 2019 Chaos convincingly ebbs and flows in this rattling film, a baneful tide lapping at some of history’s most troubled shores. —Richard Lawson, HWD, 20 July 2017
Word History
First Known Use
1566, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of baneful was in 1566
Dictionary Entries Near baneful
Cite this Entry
“Baneful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/baneful. Accessed 12 Feb. 2025.
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