curse Definition
curse (kʉrs)
noun
- a calling on God or the gods to send evil or injury down on some person or thing
- a profane, obscene, or blasphemous oath, imprecation, etc. expressing hatred, anger, vexation, etc.
- evil or injury that seems to come in answer to a curse
- any cause of evil or injury
Etymology: ME & Late OE n. curs, v. cursian: prob. < L cursus (see course), used of the course of daily liturgical prayers and of the set of imprecations in the formal recital of offenses entailing excommunication; hence, consignment to an evil fate
transitive verb cursed, curst, curs′·ing
- to call evil or injury down on; damn
- to swear at; use profane, blasphemous, or obscene language against
- to bring evil or injury on; afflict
intransitive verb
to utter a curse or curses; swear; blaspheme
curse Idioms
be cursed with
to be afflicted with; suffer from
the curse
Slang menstruation, or a menstrual period
curse Synonyms
curse
n.
Malediction
oath, imprecation, blasphemy, expletive, profanity, obscenity, vulgarity, sacrilege, profanation, execration, anathema, ban, hex, jinx, evil eye, fulmination, cursing, swearing, profane swearing, blaspheming, denunciation, damning, commination, objurgation, vilification, obloquy, swearword, dirty word*, blue word*, cuss word*, cussing*, naughty word*, bad language*, four-letter word*. * Common exclamations and curses include: plague on it, Lord, oh God, the Devil, bless my soul, bless me, by Jove, gracious, goodness, oh my, oh me, in Heaven's name, great Caesar's ghost, the deuce, did you ever; gee*, gee whillikins*, gadzooks*, mercy*, sakes alive*, drat*, good night*, so what*, dang*, land of Goshen*, darn*, hang it all*, bejesus*, blast*, blimy*, by crickey*, Chrisamighty*, Keerist*, damn it*, damn*, double-damn*, goshdamn*, goshdang*, gosh darn*, by golly*, Chrisake*, damn-it-to-hell*, for cripe's sake*, for crying out loud*, Gawd*, Judas Priest*, Jesus H. Christ*, I swan the Deil*, Lord-a-mercy*, I'll be cow-kicked and hornswoggled*, I'll be a lop-eared gazelle*, I'll be damned*, I'll be a son of a gun*, I'll be a monkey's uncle*, God's teeth*, hell's whiskers*, hell's bells*, ye gods, ye gods and little fishes*, holy mackerel*, cheese and crackers*, holy bilge water*, holy smokes*, geez*, jeepers creepers*, ay caramba*, yikes*, shoot*, ach, Gott in Himmel, Gottlob, Donnerwetter (all German)*, sacré bleu*, mon Dieu*, diable*, cochon (all French)*, diablo (Spanish)*.
Trouble or a cause of trouble
bane, evil, affliction, scourge; see affliction. See syn. study at blasphemy.
curse Synonyms
curse
v.
To utter curses
swear, blaspheme, profane, swear profanely, use foul language, be foul-mouthed, be obscene, take the Lord's name in vain, use strong language, use invective, turn the air blue*, swear like a trooper*, cuss*. To swear at
execrate, imprecate, damn, vituperate, abuse, revile, insult, call down curses on the head of, put a curse on, invoke harm on, call down evil on, anathematize, maledict, wish calamity on, blast, doom, fulminate against, thunder against, blaspheme, denounce, vilify, blight, call names*, cuss out*, put a whammy on*. To pronounce a religious curse
ban, anathematize, read out of the church; see damn 1.
curse is the general word for calling down evil or injury on someone or something; damn carries the same general meaning but, in strict usage, implies the use of the word ``damn"" in the curse he damned his enemies = he said, ``Damn my enemies!""; execrate suggests cursing prompted by great anger or abhorrence; imprecate suggests the calling down of calamity on someone, esp. from a desire for revenge; anathematize strictly refers to the formal utterance of solemn condemnation by ecclesiastical authority, but in general use suggests vehement denunciation of a person or thing viewed as detestable
curse Usage Examples
Converse of object
- mutter: The Prince, meanwhile, paced loudly up and down outside the door, muttering ancient Teutonic curses under his breath.
- pronounce: In fact, it pronounces a curse over us: " CONDEMNED TO DIE " .
- invoke: In the digital age it's much easier to invoke a curse, or to have one lifted.
- utter: Just before her death she uttered a curse against the people of Conway, and said they would always be poor.
- lift: He's going to lift the curse of sin.
- escape: At the time it had seemed a liberation, a chance to escape the heavy-bodied curse of the pill.
Adjective modifier
- terrible: The 1967 law was designed to meet rare and difficult circumstances, but has been a terrible curse.
- ancient: He would laugh at the thought of an ancient curse controlling his destiny.
- bitter: With a bitter curse, Crowbar stabbed out with his knife, determined to take somebody with him to hell.
- Chinese: Do you remember the old Chinese curse, ' May you live in interesting times ' ?
Modifies a noun
- strike: I played most, and for once the dreaded Oz curse didnt strike.
- routine: Routine and Argument Names Many curses routines have two or more versions.
Modifying Another Word
- silently: I rushed out of the door silently cursing the bell that marked everyone's arrival or departure.
- loudly: First the person in front of me left the ATM cursing loudly.
Noun used with modifier
voodoo: Her employers allegedly threaten her with voodoo curses to keep her under control.
Preposition: of
- dimensionality: It lead to the " curse of dimensionality " .
- Pharaoh: This is far more likely to strike you down than ` The Curse of the Pharaoh 's Tomb ' .
- sin: He's going to lift the curse of sin.
- law: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.
Preposition: than
blessing: We've all learned that the money in the heyday of the boom was more of a curse than a blessing.
Browse dictionary entries near curse
- ‹ currycomb
- ‹ curry powder
- ‹ curry
- ‹ currish
- ‹ Currier and Ives
- ‹ currier
- ‹ Currie, Edwina
- ‹ curriculum vitae
- ‹ curriculum
- ‹ curricle
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- curtain call ›
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