Abusive and Hurtful

Abusive

Abusive adjective - Marked by harsh insulting language.

Hurtful and abusive are semantically related. in violent topic. In some cases you can use "Hurtful" instead an adjective "Abusive".

Nearby Words: abuse, abused, abusing, abusively

Hurtful

Hurtful adjective - Causing or capable of causing harm.

Abusive and hurtful are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Abusive" instead an adjective "Hurtful".

Nearby Words: hurt, hurting

Both words in one sentence

  • Literature / Hollow Places His foster father, James, is not physically abusive, but he has a tendency to be hurtful regardless.
  • Webcomic / Dumbing of Age Ruth attempts this on Billie right as she's being confronted about how hurtful and confusing her (abusive and antisocial) Tsundere behavior is.
Cite this Source
Hurtful and Abusive. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 28, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/abusive/hurtful
Abusive & Hurtful. N.p., 2016. Web. 28 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/abusive/hurtful>.
Hurtful or Abusive. 2016. Accessed July 28, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/abusive/hurtful.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "abusive" and "hurtful" have occurred on timeline