scathe

[ skeyth ]
See synonyms for scathe on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),scathed, scath·ing.
  1. to attack with severe criticism.

  2. to hurt, harm, or injure, as by scorching.

noun
  1. hurt, harm, or injury.

Origin of scathe

1
before 1000; (noun) Middle English scath(e), scade, schath(e) <Old Norse skathi damage, harm, cognate with Old English sc(e)atha malefactor, injury (with which the Middle English forms with sch- might be identified); (v.) Middle English scath(e), skath(e) <Old Norse skatha, cognate with Old English sceathian

Other words from scathe

  • scatheless, adjective
  • scathe·less·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use scathe in a sentence

  • Scathed as by the lightnings of heaven, the whole of southern Russia east of the Dnieper was left smoking like a furnace.

    The Empire of Russia | John S. C. Abbott

British Dictionary definitions for scathe

scathe

/ (skeɪð) /


verb(tr)
  1. rare to attack with severe criticism

  2. archaic, or dialect to injure

noun
  1. archaic, or dialect harm

Origin of scathe

1
Old English sceatha; related to Old Norse skathi, Old Saxon scatho

Derived forms of scathe

  • scatheless, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012