accursed
Americanadjective
-
under or subject to a curse; doomed
-
(prenominal) hateful; detestable; execrable
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of accursed
First recorded before 1000; Middle English acursed, Old English ācursod, past participle of ācursian; see a- 3, curse
Explanation
Use accursed to describe something that's under a curse or spell — or just seems like it is. You might call your car accursed if it keeps mysteriously dying in the middle of the road for no apparent reason. An accursed house might be haunted by a spirit or under an evil spell, or you might describe it as accursed if unexplained things happen in it. You can also use the adjective simply to describe something you're angry about: "This accursed town! I can't wait to move to California!" In the 13th century, the word was acursede, "lying under a curse," from the now-obsolete acursen, "pronounce a curse upon."
Vocabulary lists containing accursed
Romeo and Juliet
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"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 3
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Chapter 20: Renaissance and Reformation
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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.
Only someone who says he was reborn in the inferno of the Palisades fire could possess the clarity and willpower needed to bring salvation to an accursed land, they argue.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
Even the most accursed teams have next season.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2022
It is “at once an accursed and a sacred place,” American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris said.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 3, 2022
“Hattie, if I could use a pen as you can,” wrote Isabella Jones Beecher, “I would write something that will make this whole nation feel what an accursed thing slavery is.”
From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018
“Our captain would prefer to be fifty leagues farther out to sea, well away from that accursed shore, but I have commanded him to steer the shortest course. Others seek Dae- nerys too.”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
