harmful for vs harmful to

Both 'harmful for' and 'harmful to' are commonly used in English, but they are used in slightly different contexts. 'Harmful to' is more commonly used to indicate the negative impact something has on a person, thing, or situation. On the other hand, 'harmful for' is used to describe the negative effects of something on a particular purpose or goal.

Last updated: March 22, 2024 • 2595 views

harmful for

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

This phrase is used to describe the negative effects of something on a particular purpose or goal. It indicates that something is detrimental or damaging in achieving a specific objective.

Examples:

Eating too much sugar is harmful for your health.
Procrastination is harmful for productivity.
Lack of exercise is harmful for weight loss.
Negative thinking is harmful for mental well-being.
Skipping breakfast is harmful for concentration.

Show examples from the web [+]

This is harmful for people with alcoholism, liver disease or epilepsy.
Ethanol could be harmful for those suffering from alcoholism.
Phenylalanine may be harmful for people with phenylketonuria.
Ingestion of Trocoxil may be harmful for children.
However, some types of bird flu are more harmful for certain birds and animals.
Cross-border actions in the field of co-regulation and self-regulation to combat unsolicited content (spam) harmful for children.
ABILIFY orodispersible tablets contain aspartame, a source of phenylalanine which may be harmful for people with phenylketonuria.
May be harmful for people with phenylketonuria.
Aspartame is a source of phenylalanine, which may be harmful for people with phenylketonuria.
This substance may be harmful for people with phenylketonuria (a metabolic disease).
The separation is harmful for mothers and children which become innocent victims of the decision taken over their mother.
This report is harmful for the European economy and shows contempt for popular sovereignty.
Frankly, we're just concerned that it's potentially harmful for the residents of shelter house.
It must be completed, it will be harmful for you otherwise.
The Committee endorses the Commission's recommendation to reduce subsidies that have a negative environmental impact and are harmful for sustainable development.
The syrup contains aspartame (E951), a source of phenylalanine, which may be harmful for people with phenylketonuria.
Ingestion of Trocoxil may be harmful for children, and prolonged pharmacological effects leading to e. g. gastrointestinal disorders may be observed.
Prac-tic should not be allowed to enter surface water, as it may be harmful for aquatic organisms.
Since this method does not require the castration of the pigs, it is obviously less harmful for the animals.
It would obviously be harmful for developing countries if they were obliged to revert to the EU's MFN tariffs and ceased to enjoy preferential treatment, albeit temporarily.

Alternatives:

detrimental to
damaging to
bad for
detrimental for
detrimental towards

harmful to

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

This phrase is used to indicate the negative impact something has on a person, thing, or situation. It is commonly used to describe the harm caused by a specific action or substance.