curse 
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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, cursing 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
be cursed with
the curse
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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
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
Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Converse of object
- mutter: The Prince, meanwhile, paced loudly up and down outside the door, muttering ancient Teutonic curses under his breath.
Adjective modifier
- terrible: The 1967 law was designed to meet rare and difficult circumstances, but has been a terrible curse.
Modifies a noun
- strike: I played most, and for once the dreaded Oz curse didnt strike.
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 " .
Preposition: than
- blessing: We've all learned that the money in the heyday of the boom was more of a curse than a blessing.
The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.
Curse on his virtues! they've undone his country. Such popular humanity is treason.
Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.But put forththinehand now, and touchhisboneand his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. Then said his wife unto him,Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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MLA Style
"curse." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009
- Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
- <www.yourdictionary.com/curse>
APA Style
curse. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary
- Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/curse
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