deleterious
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- deletorious (now proscribed)
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed (1640s, 1582 as deletorious) from Medieval Latin deleterius, deletorius, from Ancient Greek δηλητήριος (dēlētḗrios, “noxious, deleterious”), from δηλητήρ (dēlētḗr, “a destroyer”), from δηλέομαι (dēléomai, “I hurt, damage, spoil, waste”).[1]
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌdɛlɪˈtɪəɹi.əs/, /ˌdɪlɪˈtɪəɹi.əs/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˌdɛləˈtɪɹi.əs/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪəɹiəs
Adjective[edit]
deleterious (comparative more deleterious, superlative most deleterious)
- Harmful, often in a subtle or unexpected way.
- Synonyms: destructive, harmful, hurtful, injurious, noxious, pernicious; see also Thesaurus:harmful
- deleterious effects
- deleterious to someone's health
- 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “chapter XV”, in The Scarlet Letter:
- Or might it suffice him, that every wholesome growth should be converted into something deleterious and malignant at his touch?
- 1946 May and June, J. G. Holmes, “The North Woolwich Branch”, in Railway Magazine, page 176:
- A trolleybus service was established by the London Passenger Transport Board between North Woolwich and Stratford on February 6, 1938, and had a deleterious effect on railway passenger traffic.
- 2017 September, Jean M. Twenge, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?”, in The Atlantic[1]:
- The advent of the smartphone and its cousin the tablet was followed quickly by hand-wringing about the deleterious effects of “screen time.” But the impact of these devices has not been fully appreciated, and goes far beyond the usual concerns about curtailed attention spans.
- (genetics) Having lower fitness.
- A deleterious mutation
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
harmful
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References[edit]
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “deleterious”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Further reading[edit]
- “deleterious”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- “deleterious”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “deleterious”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English 5-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
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- Rhymes:English/ɪəɹiəs
- Rhymes:English/ɪəɹiəs/5 syllables
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
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- en:Genetics