curse
Americannoun
-
the expression of a wish that misfortune, evil, doom, etc., befall a person, group, etc.
- Synonyms:
- malediction, fulmination, execration, imprecation
- Antonyms:
- benediction, blessing
-
a formula or charm intended to cause such misfortune to another.
-
the act of reciting such a formula.
-
a profane oath; curse word.
-
an evil that has been invoked upon one.
- Synonyms:
- torment, affliction, plague, scourge, bane, trouble, calamity, misfortune
-
the cause of evil, misfortune, or trouble.
- Synonyms:
- torment, affliction, plague, scourge, bane
-
something accursed.
-
Informal. Usually the curse the menstrual period; menstruation.
-
an ecclesiastical censure or anathema.
- Synonyms:
- imprecation, malediction, fulmination, execration
- Antonyms:
- benediction, blessing
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
a profane or obscene expression of anger, disgust, surprise, etc; oath
-
an appeal to a supernatural power for harm to come to a specific person, group, etc
-
harm resulting from an appeal to a supernatural power
to be under a curse
-
something that brings or causes great trouble or harm
-
a saying, charm, effigy, etc, used to invoke a curse
-
an ecclesiastical censure of excommunication
-
informal menstruation or a menstrual period
verb
-
(intr) to utter obscenities or oaths
-
(tr) to abuse (someone) with obscenities or oaths
-
(tr) to invoke supernatural powers to bring harm to (someone or something)
-
(tr) to bring harm upon
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(tr) another word for excommunicate
Related Words
Curse, blaspheme, swear are often interchangeable in the sense of using profane language. However, curse is the general word for the heartfelt invoking or angry calling down of evil on another: to curse an enemy. To blaspheme is to speak contemptuously or with abuse of God or of sacred things: to blaspheme openly. To swear is to use the name of God or of some holy person or thing as an exclamation to add force or show anger: to swear in every sentence.
Other Word Forms
- curser noun
- outcurse verb (used with object)
- uncursing adjective
Etymology
Origin of curse
First recorded in before 1050; Middle English curs (noun), cursen (verb), Old English curs (noun), cursian (verb), of disputed origin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Research from the University of South Wales, Derby University and Manchester University showed modern brides are reluctant to buy pre-loved gowns because they're worried about stains, smells - and even "curses".
From BBC
From England, Maggie shot off a letter to the New York Herald: “Spiritualism is a curse.”
From Literature
In coarse, colloquial prose, translated by Kate Webster, these loosely united vignettes glance upon the lives of villagers who seem cursed by the land.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra significantly declined as more Democrats entered the contest and Porter dealt with the fallout from videos of her cursing at an aide and scolding a reporter.
From Los Angeles Times
It was a curse, and I could feel it wrapping around me fast now, tightening its coils.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
