hurtfulness
Definition
Noun (uncountable): The quality or state of being hurtful; the capacity to cause pain, injury, or emotional distress.
Usage Examples
- (The painful effect of his speech.)
- (The damaging nature of the rumor.)
- (The degree of emotional harm it caused.)
Advanced Usage
"to feel the hurtfulness of something": to experience the painful impact of an action or statement.
- After the argument, he finally felt the hurtfulness of his own remarks. (He realized how much pain he had caused.)
"to add to the hurtfulness": to increase the degree of harm or pain.
- Her silence only added to the hurtfulness of the situation. (It made the emotional damage worse.)
Variants and Related Words
Hurtful (adj): causing pain or injury, especially emotional pain.
- That was a very hurtful comment. (It caused emotional harm.)
Hurt (v/n): to cause physical or emotional pain; the pain itself.
- His actions hurt her deeply. (Caused emotional pain.)
Synonyms
- Harmfulness: the quality of causing damage or injury.
- Malice: the intention or desire to cause pain.
- Cruelty: behavior that causes suffering to others.
Related Idioms
"cut to the quick": to hurt someone's feelings deeply.
- Her remark cut him to the quick, revealing the hurtfulness of her words. (Deeply and painfully offended.)
"add insult to injury": to make a bad situation worse.
- He not only forgot her birthday but also criticized her gift — adding insult to injury, and showing the hurtfulness of his actions. (Making the pain worse.)