harmed
harmed — verb
- harmedpresent simple I / you / we / they
- harmeds3rd person singular
- harmeding-ing form
- harmededpast simple
1. To cause physical pain or emotional suffering to a person, or to spoil or physic
To cause physical pain or emotional suffering to a person, or to spoil or physically damage something.
The strong cleaning chemicals harmed the surface of the old wooden table.
harm + concrete object (inanimate)
Luis never meant to harm anyone with his careless remarks about their work.
If factory workers do not wear safety gloves, they could harm their hands badly.
The early spring frost harmed the young tomato plants in Mr. Chen's garden.
Dr. Okonkwo worried that the wrong medicine would harm his patient's liver.
文法句型
harm + noun phrase
用法筆記
Often used in safety warnings and environmental contexts. The passive construction 'be harmed by' is common when specifying the cause of the damage.
常見錯誤
harmed — noun
1. Physical or emotional injury, or damage to an object or situation, considered as
Physical or emotional injury, or damage to an object or situation, considered as a result rather than as an action.
After the car crash, the doctors told Priya that she had suffered no serious harm.
suffer + harm (physical injury result)
A little worry is normal, but constant anxiety can do real harm to a person's mental health.
do + harm + to + something (emotional/psychological)
The heavy hailstorm did great harm to the rooftops and cars across the village.
Sunbathing without any protection can cause lasting harm to your skin.
Aunt Rosa could see the harm that years of hard farm work had done to her mother's hands.
文法句型
do/cause/suffer + harm
harm + to + noun phrase
用法筆記
Uncountable in this sense — 'a harm' is incorrect outside specialised legal contexts. Common verb partners: 'do', 'cause', 'suffer', 'come to'.
常見錯誤
2. An act or intention to cause trouble, pain, or damage to someone or something, s
An act or intention to cause trouble, pain, or damage to someone or something, seen as a behaviour rather than as a result.
The old man meant no harm; he was only trying to carry the heavy boxes for his neighbour.
set phrase: mean no harm
Kenji's older brother hid the video game out of mischief, not out of any real harm.
Fatima's only wish was to protect her younger sister from harm while they walked home.
The charity's workers go into dangerous areas with the aim of doing no harm to local people.
- mischief
less serious; often playful or childish
- wrongdoing
more formal and moral in tone
文法句型
mean + no + harm
do + noun phrase + harm
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 (INJURY OR DAMAGE): this sense emphasises the act or intention to cause harm, not the resulting injury. The fixed expression 'mean no harm' always belongs to this sense — if someone 'means no harm', they act without harmful intention, even if damage results.
常見錯誤
3. Loss or damage affecting a person's legal rights, property, possessions, or gene
Loss or damage affecting a person's legal rights, property, possessions, or general well-being, especially when assessed in a formal or legal context.
The court found that the factory's pollution had caused serious harm to local homeowners.
legal context: court finds harm caused
The new consumer law is designed to prevent harm to buyers who receive faulty products.
The judge ruled that the company's unfair practices had caused measurable harm to its competitors.
文法句型
harm + to + noun phrase
cause + noun phrase + harm
用法筆記
Typically found in legal, insurance, or formal regulatory writing. In this sense, 'harm' may occasionally be used as a countable noun ('the harms suffered by each plaintiff'), unlike the everyday sense 1.