/ˌde.trɪˈmen.təl/ · adjective
detrimental
có hại — Gây hại hoặc tổn hại cho một điều gì đó — thường đi với “to”.
The upgrade in 5 seconds
bad for the environment
detrimental to the environment
No definition. No dictionary. Just the sentence, made better.
Section 02
The Common Mistake
Many IELTS candidates lean on bad, harmful and not good.
“Bad” and “harmful” are correct — but “bad” especially is informal and vague. In academic writing it signals a limited lexical range.
“Yes — that's exactly how I write, too.”
Section 03
The Better Choice
This is the step from Band 6 to Band 7 — not a harder word, a more precise one.
Section 04
Why It Works
“Bad” just says something is negative. “Detrimental” says it actively causes harm or damage — and it takes the preposition to, which forces a precise object.
That precision is why it fits health, environment and society essays. It pairs with abstract nouns of harm (effect, impact, consequences, to health, to development) — the exact collocations Band 8 rewards.
Section 05 · The core of the lesson
Upgrade Matrix
Watch one idea climb from Band 6 to Band 9 — same meaning, rising precision.
Junk food is bad for your health.
Correct, but “bad for” is informal and flat.
Junk food is harmful to your health.
Better, though “harmful” is still fairly general.
A poor diet can be detrimental to long-term health.
Precise adjective + the natural preposition. This is the target.
A consistently poor diet can be detrimental to both physical and mental health.
Developed, specific and fully controlled.
Plastic waste is bad for the oceans.
Fine, but weak for an academic argument.
Plastic waste has a detrimental effect on marine ecosystems.
“Detrimental effect on” is a top-tier collocation.
Unregulated plastic waste has a detrimental effect on marine ecosystems and the food chain.
Precise, developed and tightly argued.
Section 06 · Read against the band descriptors
Examiner's Insight
How this word measures up against the public IELTS Writing & Speaking band descriptors — an editorial read, not a real examiner's verdict.
In Writing Task 2, “detrimental to health” is the kind of phrasing the band descriptors reward — not because the word is rare, but because it is precise and correctly collocated. It signals control of academic register, not just a bigger vocabulary.
Section 07
Native Radar
Not about grammar — about whether a native speaker would actually say it.
-
Native would naturally say
a detrimental effect on the economy
-
Native might say
detrimental for your health
Understood — but the natural preposition is “detrimental TO health”.
-
Native almost never says
a detrimental movie
Detrimental means “causing harm”, not “bad quality” — a dull film isn’t “detrimental”.
Section 08 · Under 5 minutes
Active Recall
01 Rewrite using detrimental: “Smoking is very bad for your health.”
Model answer
Smoking is detrimental to your health.
02 Choose the correct preposition: detrimental for health / detrimental to health.
Answer
detrimental to health — “to” is the natural collocation.
03 Complete naturally: “Excessive screen time can have a ______ effect on sleep.”
Answer
detrimental — “a detrimental effect on” is a perfect pairing.
Detrimental = actively harmful to something —
a sharper word than bad.
If you forget everything else, keep this.
Section 10 · Editorial rating
Examiner Score
Section 11 · The editor closes
Final Verdict
Detrimental is one of the most useful adjectives in academic English. It isn’t for decoration — it upgrades the vague “bad” into something precise and formal. The moment you write “detrimental to health” instead of “bad for health”, your writing sounds measured and academic.
Learn it once, remember it takes to, and pair it with nouns of harm — effect, impact, health, environment — and it will fit almost any Task 2 essay.
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