To injure means to harm or damage someone's body. When you injure yourself playing soccer, you might sprain an ankle, scrape a knee, or pull a muscle. Injuries can be minor, like a small cut that heals in days, or serious, like a broken bone that needs weeks in a cast.

You can injure yourself accidentally (tripping on the stairs), or someone else might injure you (a friend accidentally hitting you with a basketball).

Injured describes someone who has been hurt: “The injured player limped off the field.” An injury is the actual harm done: “She suffered a wrist injury during gymnastics practice.”

The word also applies beyond physical harm. You can injure someone's feelings by saying something cruel, or injure someone's reputation by spreading false rumors about them. These non-physical injuries can sometimes take longer to heal than physical ones. When you injure someone's pride, you damage how they feel about themselves.