detriment
Other forms: detriments
Detriment is the hurt or harm as a result of damage, loss, or a bad decision. The developers won the lawsuit, much to the detriment of the people who live near the construction site.
The meaning of detriment has not changed much from its roots in the Latin word, detrimentum, which is "a rubbing off, loss, damage, defeat." A detriment is a loss that wears you down. Smoking is a detriment to good health, as is standing in the snow barefooted. To the detriment of the people who clean the floors, we gave the girls scrambled eggs right before gymnastics class.
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Vocabulary lists containing detriment
Liesel Meminger is a foster child living in Nazi Germany in 1939. Surrounded by violence, hardship, and war, Liesel is watched over by Death, who narrates her story.
In the first book of the Hazelwood High trilogy, basketball player Andy Jackson deals with the aftermath of the car accident that killed his best friend.
In May of 1940, Nazi Germany launched a massive attack and swiftly conquered most of Western Europe. Britain suddenly found itself alone, facing a possible invasion by the powerful German military. On June 18th British Prime Minister Winston Churchill warned his nation of the dangers ahead and promised that, "if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.'"