detrimental to

Meaning

This phrase means causing harm, damage, or disruption to something. It is commonly used in professional, legal, and academic settings to describe negative impacts on business operations, project timelines, or employee morale. It is always followed by the preposition 'to'.

Examples

• The sudden budget cuts were highly detrimental to our research and development team.

  The sudden budget cuts were highly detrimental to our research and development team.

• Working excessive overtime can be detrimental to employee health and productivity.

  Working excessive overtime can be detrimental to employee health and productivity.

• Any delay in shipping could be detrimental to our relationship with the client.

  Any delay in shipping could be detrimental to our relationship with the client.

• His public outburst was detrimental to the company's brand reputation.

  His public outburst was detrimental to the company's brand reputation.

• A lack of clear communication is detrimental to successful project execution.

  A lack of clear communication is detrimental to successful project execution.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ These policies are detrimental for our growth.

  ✓ These policies are detrimental to our growth.

  Learners often use the preposition 'for' instead of 'to' because they translate literally from their native language. 'Detrimental' always collocates with 'to'.

• ✗ The decision had a detrimental effect to the team.

  ✓ The decision had a detrimental effect on the team.

  While the adjective phrase is 'detrimental to', when using the noun phrase 'detrimental effect', the correct preposition to follow 'effect' is 'on'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Consistently missing deadlines is ___ our team's credibility.

  💡 harmful to

  Show answer

  detrimental to

• A hostile work environment is highly ___ employee retention.

  💡 damaging to

  Show answer

  detrimental to