What does detrimental mean?
Word: Detrimental
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Detrimental means causing harm or damage to something.
Synonyms: harmful, damaging, injurious, bad
Antonyms: helpful, advantageous
How do you spell detrimental?
Syllables: det - ri - men - tal
Tricky part: The second syllable is ri, with an i, not re: detremental is the usual slip.
Watch out for: detremental, ditrimental, detrimentle
Memory tip: Cutting a tree too hard can be detrimental, and the word trim hides inside it.
Detrimental in a sentence
Example 1: Too much junk food is detrimental to health.
Example 2: Cutting the mangroves could be detrimental to the fishing villages on the coast.
Example 3: Skipping breakfast can be detrimental to your concentration in class.
Fun Fact
The word comes from a Latin noun for loss or damage, built on a verb meaning to rub or wear away.
Practise the CREST Way
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
Pesticides sprayed near the river can be laetdmrtien to the fish.
a) determinant
b) deteriorate
c) detrimental
d) departure
Show answer
c) detrimental. Determinant has two n's and no l, deteriorate needs an o, and departure a p and a u; harm to fish calls for detrimental.
Word Connection
Choose the word opposite in meaning to detrimental as used in the sentence:
Too much screen time late at night is detrimental to a child's sleep.
a) tiring
b) beneficial
c) unhealthy
d) dangerous
Show answer
b) beneficial. Detrimental means doing harm; beneficial means doing good, while dangerous, unhealthy and tiring all lean towards harm.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
detrim_nt_l
a) e, e
b) e, a
c) a, e
d) a, a
Show answer
b) e, a. Detriment gives the e, and the describing ending is al.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which habit is detrimental to your teeth?
a) brushing twice a day
b) drinking water
c) visiting the dentist
d) eating sweets all day
Show answer
d) eating sweets all day
2. "The heavy rain was detrimental to the crops." The rain ____ the crops.
a) helped
b) fed
c) cooled
d) harmed
Show answer
d) harmed
