Synonym Chooser

How is the word baneful different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of baneful are deleterious, detrimental, noxious, and pernicious. While all these words mean "exceedingly harmful," baneful implies injury through poisoning or destroying.

the baneful notion that discipline destroys creativity

In what contexts can deleterious take the place of baneful?

While in some cases nearly identical to baneful, deleterious applies to what has an often unsuspected harmful effect.

a diet found to have deleterious effects

When is detrimental a more appropriate choice than baneful?

The words detrimental and baneful are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, detrimental implies obvious harmfulness to something specified.

the detrimental effects of excessive drinking

Where would noxious be a reasonable alternative to baneful?

The words noxious and baneful can be used in similar contexts, but noxious applies to what is both offensive and injurious to the health of a body or mind.

noxious chemical fumes

When is it sensible to use pernicious instead of baneful?

Although the words pernicious and baneful have much in common, pernicious implies irreparable harm done through evil or insidious corrupting or undermining.

the claim that pornography has a pernicious effect on society

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of baneful 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 Chaos convincingly ebbs and flows in this rattling film, a baneful tide lapping at some of history’s most troubled shores. Richard Lawson, vanityfair.com, 20 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for baneful
Adjective
  • Some of these harmful ideologies might be downstream of these larger root causes.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 30 May 2025
  • The jury is still out on whether emulsifiers are harmful to the gut.
    Fran Kritz, Verywell Health, 30 May 2025
Adjective
  • In 2023, for example, a federal judge ruled that mifepristone should be taken off the market by citing low-quality studies that reported adverse effects from mifepristone.
    Keren Landman, The Atlantic, 24 May 2025
  • Those impacted by this recall or others can report a complaint or adverse event by visiting Industry and Consumer Assistance.
    Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 24 May 2025
Adjective
  • The multitrillion-dollar GOP tax bill could have detrimental impacts on decarbonization efforts in the U.S., according to energy experts.
    Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 23 May 2025
  • President Donald Trump's economic agenda is having a detrimental impact on workplace mental health, according to the American Psychological Association (APA).
    Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 May 2025
Adjective
  • Mensah and Bharadwaj take dangerous risks exploring an unknown area while Gurathin confronts Murderbot.
    Billie Melissa, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 May 2025
  • This, in effect, frames even the movie’s unrelated, apolitical happenings as being at the mercy of this dangerous future, backed by Western powers.
    Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 24 May 2025
Adjective
  • Potent thunderstorms across the central and eastern U.S. this week could trigger flash floods, damaging winds and possible tornadoes as California prepares for its first heat wave of the season.
    Christopher Cann, USA Today, 29 May 2025
  • The plains in southeastern Colorado can expect damaging wind gusts up to 70 mph, 2-inch hail, heavy rain and a chance for tornadoes, according to a Hazardous Weather Outlook from the weather service's Pueblo office.
    Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 28 May 2025
Adjective
  • Anything under par around here in these conditions isn't a bad score.
    Julio Cesar Valdera Morales, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 May 2025
  • If sinister twists or Roy-style bad dads do it for you, hang on past the hour mark.
    Judy Berman, Time, 23 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Baneful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/baneful. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.

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