100 Best Synonyms for “Hurtful”

No.	Item	Definition
1.	abrasive	Harsh and unpleasantly direct.
2.	abusive	Cruel, insulting, or harmful.
3.	acerbic	Sharp, harsh, and biting.
4.	acid	Sharp, bitter, and hurtful.
5.	adverse	Harmful or unfavorable in effect.
6.	aggressive	Hostile, forceful, or hurtful.
7.	alienating	Making others feel rejected.
8.	antagonistic	Hostile and opposing.
9.	barbed	Containing a hidden hurtful sting.
10.	belittling	Making someone feel small.
11.	biting	Sharply critical and hurtful.
12.	bitter	Resentful, harsh, and painful.
13.	blistering	Harshly critical and painful.
14.	boorish	Rude, insensitive, and crude.
15.	brutal	Harsh, cruel, and painful.
16.	callous	Insensitive to others’ feelings.
17.	caustic	Bitterly critical and hurtful.
18.	coarse	Rough, rude, or offensive.
19.	condescending	Showing insulting superiority.
20.	contemptuous	Showing deep disrespect or scorn.
21.	crass	Insensitive, coarse, and offensive.
22.	cruel	Deliberately causing pain or suffering.
23.	cutting	Sharply hurtful or critical.
24.	damaging	Causing harm or lasting damage.
25.	deleterious	Harmful in effect.
26.	demoralizing	Weakening confidence or morale.
27.	destructive	Causing serious damage or harm.
28.	detrimental	Causing disadvantage or harm.
29.	discouraging	Causing loss of confidence.
30.	disheartening	Causing sadness or discouragement.
31.	distressing	Causing worry, pain, or sadness.
32.	embarrassing	Causing shame or awkwardness.
33.	exclusionary	Keeping people out hurtfully.
34.	frosty	Cold and unfriendly.
35.	galling	Annoying, humiliating, or hurtful.
36.	grating	Annoyingly harsh or unpleasant.
37.	hard	Severe, unsympathetic, or painful.
38.	hardhearted	Lacking compassion or sympathy.
39.	harmful	Causing damage, injury, or distress.
40.	harsh	Severe, unkind, or painful.
41.	heartless	Cruel and lacking compassion.
42.	hostile	Unfriendly and harmful in intent.
43.	humiliating	Causing shame or embarrassment.
44.	icy	Cold and unfriendly.
45.	indelicate	Insensitive or lacking tact.
46.	injurious	Causing harm or damage.
47.	insensitive	Showing little concern for feelings.
48.	insulting	Showing disrespect and causing hurt.
49.	invalidating	Denying someone’s feelings or experience.
50.	jarring	Shockingly unpleasant or upsetting.
51.	jeering	Mocking rudely and hurtfully.
52.	malicious	Intended to harm or upset.
53.	mean	Unkind and intended to hurt.
54.	merciless	Cruel and without mercy.
55.	minimizing	Making pain seem less important.
56.	mocking	Ridiculing in a hurtful way.
57.	mortifying	Causing extreme embarrassment or shame.
58.	nasty	Unpleasantly cruel or offensive.
59.	negative	Harmful, critical, or discouraging.
60.	offensive	Causing anger, hurt, or insult.
61.	oppressive	Harshly burdensome or cruel.
62.	ostracizing	Excluding someone socially.
63.	pain-giving	Causing pain or distress.
64.	painful	Causing emotional or physical pain.
65.	patronizing	Condescending and often hurtful.
66.	pernicious	Seriously harmful, often subtly.
67.	piercing	Emotionally sharp and painful.
68.	pitiless	Showing no pity or mercy.
69.	poisonous	Harmful, malicious, or corrupting.
70.	rancorous	Bitterly hostile and hurtful.
71.	rankling	Continuing to cause resentment.
72.	rejecting	Refusing acceptance or affection.
73.	ridiculing	Mocking to make someone seem foolish.
74.	rude	Impolite and often hurtful.
75.	ruinous	Causing severe damage or loss.
76.	ruthless	Cruelly determined; without pity.
77.	savage	Fiercely cruel or harsh.
78.	scathing	Severely critical and hurtful.
79.	searing	Intensely painful or damaging.
80.	severe	Harsh enough to cause pain.
81.	shaming	Causing shame or disgrace.
82.	sharp	Biting or painful in effect.
83.	spiteful	Intended to hurt through malice.
84.	stinging	Causing sharp emotional pain.
85.	tactless	Insensitive and socially clumsy.
86.	tasteless	Offensive through poor judgment.
87.	taunting	Mocking to provoke or hurt.
88.	thoughtless	Careless about others’ feelings.
89.	toxic	Emotionally damaging or harmful.
90.	traumatic	Causing deep emotional injury.
91.	unfeeling	Insensitive and lacking compassion.
92.	unhealthy	Harmful to well-being.
93.	unkind	Lacking kindness; causing hurt.
94.	unkindly	Cruel or lacking kindness.
95.	unmerciful	Cruel and showing no mercy.
96.	unsympathetic	Lacking sympathy or compassion.
97.	upsetting	Causing emotional disturbance.
98.	venomous	Full of poisonous malice.
99.	vicious	Cruel, severe, or spiteful.
100.	wounding	Causing deep emotional pain.