deleterious

CEFRB2

/ˌdɛl.ɪˈtɪə̯.ɹi.əs/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Causing harm or damage.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Having lower fitness.

Examples

  • Insufficient illumination is deleterious to ocular health.

  • This would have a deleterious effect on our ability to organize.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
3
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meaning

  1. Harmful, often in a subtle or unexpected way.

More examples

In context

  • We cannot continue to ignore the deleterious effects of these policies on our country.

  • deleterious to someone's health

  • A deleterious mutation

Synonyms

Quick test

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Question 1 · Quick check

Smoking has a blank effect on lung health, often leading to chronic diseases over time.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

Adapted borrowing (1640s; 1582 as deletorious) of New Latin dēlētērius, dēlētōrius + -ous, from Ancient Greek δηλητήριος (dēlētḗrios, “noxious, deleterious”), from δηλητήρ (dēlētḗr, “a destroyer”), from δηλέομαι (dēléomai, “I hurt, damage, spoil, waste”). Not related to delete or deleble. Doublet of deletery.