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Monday July 8, 2002

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deleterious \del-uh-TIR-ee-us\ , adjective:
Harmful; destructive; pernicious.

Heat, especially year-round heat, has an even more deleterious consequence: it encourages the proliferation of life forms hostile to man.
-- David S. Landes, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations

Hikers can minimize the deleterious effects of high altitudes by spending two days acclimatizing themselves at spots around 8,000 feet.
-- Nancy Stedman, "The Good and Bad of Sun Exposure", New York Times, May 4, 1999

Deleterious is derived from Greek deleterios, from deleisthai, "to hurt, to damage."

Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for deleterious

 

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