/ ˈɪndʒə(r); NAmE / verb [ vn ]
1.
to harm yourself or sb else physically, especially in an accident :
He injured his knee playing hockey.
Three people were killed and five injured in the crash.
2.
to damage sb's reputation, pride, etc. :
This could seriously injure the company's reputation.
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SYNONYMS
injure
wound ♦ hurt ♦ bruise ♦ maim ♦ sprain ♦ pull ♦ twist ♦ strain
These words all mean to harm yourself or sb else physically, especially in an accident.
injure
to harm yourself or sb else physically, especially in an accident:
He injured his knee playing hockey.
•
Three people were injured in the crash.
wound
[often passive] ( rather formal ) to injure part of the body, especially by making a hole in the skin using a weapon:
50 people were seriously wounded in the attack.
NOTE
Wound is often used to talk about people being hurt in war or in other attacks which affect a lot of people.
hurt
to cause physical pain to sb/yourself; to injure sb / yourself:
Did you hurt yourself?
hurt or injure?
You can hurt or injure a part of the body in an accident. Hurt emphasizes the physical pain caused; injure emphasizes that the part of the body has been damaged in some way.
bruise
to make a a blue, brown or purple mark (= a bruise) appear on the skin after sb has fallen or been hit; to develop a bruise
maim
( rather formal ) to injure sb seriously, causing permanent damage to their body
sprain
to injure part of your body, especially your ankle, wrist or knee, by suddenly bending it in an awkward way, causing pain and swelling
pull
to damage a muscle, etc., by using too much force
twist
to suddenly bend a part of your body, especially your ankle, wrist or knee, in an awkward way, causing an injury that involves pain and swelling
sprain or twist?
A sprain is an injury to your ankle, wrist or knee that causes pain and swelling; to sprain your ankle / wrist / knee is to injure it in this way. To twist your ankle / wrist / knee is to do the action (= to suddenly bend it in an awkward way) that causes the injury.
strain
to injure yourself or part of your body by making it work too hard:
Don't strain your eyes by reading in poor light.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
to injure / hurt / strain yourself
to injure / hurt / sprain / pull / strain a muscle
to injure / hurt / sprain / twist your ankle / foot / knee
to injure / hurt / sprain your wrist / hand
to injure / hurt / strain your back / shoulder / eyes
to injure / hurt your spine / neck
to be badly / seriously / severely / slightly injured / wounded / hurt / bruised / maimed / sprained
to be slightly injured / wounded / hurt / bruised / sprained
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : back-formation from injury .