# harmful

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈhɑːmfl̩/ · frequency rank #7,458

## Definitions
1. Causing or likely to cause harm or damage; injurious.

## Etymology
From Middle English harmful, from Old English *hearmful (suggested by hearmfullīċ (“harmful; hurtful”)), equivalent to harm + -ful.
Cognate with German harmvoll, Danish harmfuld, Swedish harmfull.

## Easily confused with
- **hateful** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/harmful-vs-hateful)
- **hurtful** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/harmful-vs-hurtful)
- **handful** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/handful-vs-harmful)

## Common misspellings (11)
`ahrmful`, `hamrful`, `harfmul`, `harmfful`, `harmflu`, `harmfull`, `harmmful`, `harmufl`, `harrmful`, `hharmful`, `hramful`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/harmful