curse
Americannoun
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curses
plural
-
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)
-
curses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cursed,
past participle, past
-
curst,
past participle, past (Archaic)
-
cursing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
curses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cursed,
past participle, past
-
curst,
past participle, past (Archaic)
-
cursing
present participle
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
-
(tr) another word for excommunicate
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cursesimple
-
cursessimple
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have cursedperfect
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have curstperfect
-
has cursedperfect
-
has curstperfect
-
am cursingprogressive
-
are cursingprogressive
-
is cursingprogressive
-
have been cursingperfect progressive
-
has been cursingperfect progressive
Past
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cursedsimple
-
curstsimple
-
had cursedperfect
-
had curstperfect
-
was cursingprogressive
-
were cursingprogressive
-
had been cursingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of curse
First recorded in before 1050; Middle English curs (noun), cursen (verb), Old English curs (noun), cursian (verb), of disputed origin
Explanation
When you curse, you say words you wouldn't want your mother or your priest to hear you saying. A curse can also be wishing something awful on someone, like the witch who puts a curse on Sleeping Beauty. When you hear "maledizione!" in an Italian opera, somebody's having a curse placed on them. The Italian word tells you just what a curse is — it's a "bad saying" — a really bad saying. Like "May you and all your family have nothing but Brussels sprouts to eat forever and ever!" That would be a curse. As a verb, the act of cursing will lead to getting your mouth washed out with soap.
Vocabulary lists containing curse
Christmas Carol Vocab: A Lyrical Lexicon
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Holes
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Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 5
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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.
See Examples For:
When things go against you, leverage is a curse, not a blessing, as anyone who was on the wrong side of the housing crash nearly two decades ago knows.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
For now, though, EES, which stands for entry/exit system, has become the curse word of the summer for some Europe-bound U.S. travelers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
I didn't lash out; didn't curse at him.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
The script bandies about all three options, concluding that he’s closest to a chosen curse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
And therefore when those same frenzied Virginians who were writing Madison about the fatal curse of assumption also wrote him, he was even less supportive, though characteristically elusive.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
The president in this book never curses, even when throwing backroom tantrums.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Bronwen Barclay had no concerns about "curses" when she got married in a second-hand dress.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026
Even rapper Cardi B joked about Reese’s picks becoming curses after the girl picked the New England Patriots to win over the Houston Texans this weekend.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2026
As quickly as possible, the crew wrapped up their ill-gotten gains and made for the exit as the four guardians wailed pleas and threats and curses behind them.
From Slate ● Dec. 15, 2024
“But my mom told me not to accept curses from strangers.”
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Does this explain why my dad told me we were cursed growing up?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
My mother, Caroline, never cursed or raised her voice, and was almost fairylike in her tone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
But the siblings didn’t believe they were actually cursed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
Nathaniel Hawthorne set this brooding, allegorical work in mid-19th-century Salem, Mass., a town cursed by the crimes of the witch trials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Damasen was the best giant, kind and helpful...and for that, he’d been cursed to eternal torment.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
O luxury! thou curst by Heaven's decree, How ill exchanged are things like these for thee!
From Salon ● Dec. 28, 2020
Let France disdain to sully thee, With the curst kidnapper's knavery!
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 105, November 11, 1893 by Various
“Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair; He curst himself in his despair; The waves rush in on every side, The ship is sinking beneath the tide.”
From The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 2 by Frederick Whymper
Sir, I ask your pardon; but by making yourself my equal, I've got so used to familiarity, that I find it curst hard to shake it off.
From Wild Oats or, The Strolling Gentlemen by Anonymous
"Save us, Jack, but ya're curst gloomy, I think!"
From Our Admirable Betty A Romance by Jeffery Farnol
Indeed, old photos show a room with seating for all, with sharply dressed riders reading newspapers and enjoying casual conversation rather than standing in a sweaty mob and cursing their travel agents.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
Some players are thriving on the livelier surfaces - but others are cursing them.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
We have already witnessed an ice dance judging scandal and a curling kerfuffle featuring a cursing Canadian.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 2026
“I had a bad taste in my mouth from that experience,” Boxer said, growing upset while describing her reaction to the video of Porter cursing at her staffer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2025
In their company I attended grainy black-and-white movies in which ponderous, turtlenecked men slogged the stony beaches, cursing the gulls for their ability to fly.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
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.
