curse
the expression of a wish that misfortune, evil, doom, etc., befall a person, group, etc.
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.
the cause of evil, misfortune, or trouble.
something accursed.
Informal.Usually the curse . the menstrual period; menstruation.
an ecclesiastical censure or anathema.
to wish or invoke evil, calamity, injury, or destruction upon.
to swear at.
to blaspheme.
to afflict with great evil.
to excommunicate.
to utter curses; swear profanely.
Origin of curse
1synonym study For curse
Other words for curse
| 1, 9 | imprecation, execration, fulmination, malediction |
| 5 | misfortune, calamity, trouble |
| 5, 6 | bane, scourge, plague, affliction, torment |
| 13 | plague, scourge, afflict, doom |
Opposites for curse
Other words from curse
- curser, noun
- outcurse, verb (used with object), out·cursed, out·curs·ing.
- un·curs·ing, adjective
Words that may be confused with curse
Words Nearby curse
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use curse in a sentence
If there really was a curse, he should have been one of its first victims.
What the mummy’s curse reveals about your brain | Kathryn Hulick | January 14, 2021 | Science News For StudentsThe Jazz will use wings and forwards to set ball screens and confuse defenders, but the lion’s share of Mitchell’s attack involves a partnership with Gobert that’s both a gift and a curse.
Can Donovan Mitchell Reach His Potential In The Bubble? | Michael Pina | August 3, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightYour already-simmering emotions leap into overdrive, and you lay on the horn and shout curses no one can hear.
Cars Will Soon Be Able to Sense and React to Your Emotions | Vanessa Bates Ramirez | July 29, 2020 | Singularity HubWith their curse lifted, the Red Sox just kept winning over the next decade and a half.
Nomar Garciaparra’s Full Career Wasn’t Enough For Cooperstown — But It Was Still Damn Good | Neil Paine (neil.paine@fivethirtyeight.com) | July 28, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightThese mummies come complete with mazes and hieroglyphs and maybe a curse or two.
A curse-filled half hour that saw my blood boil as my filing deadline ticked further into the past.
J.K. Rowling Pens the Greatest Horror Story Ever: Dolores Umbridge Was Real | Kevin Fallon | October 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHowever, these “potty-mouthed princesses” curse like proverbial sailors to prove a point.
Marcel the Shell Returns, Potty-Mouthed Princesses, and More Viral Videos | Alex Chancey | October 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHis memory is encyclopedic--a curse for a man who feels persecuted.
For much of our political history, the “third term” curse was non-existent.
As it is, whatever worries will keep the next Democratic nominee up at night, that “third term curse” should not be one of them.
Seen thus poverty became rather a blessing than a curse, or at least a dispensation prescribing the proper lot of man.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockA child, under exactly similar circumstances as far as its knowledge goes, cannot very well curse God and die.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II | Rudyard KiplingHe was given no reply save a muttered curse, a command to hold his tongue, and an angry tug at his tied arms.
The Red Year | Louis TracyAnd then he walked about the room, reflecting on the curse of his life—his besetting sin—irresolution.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodThe Jesuit expatiated on the curse of heaven, which now manifested itself on the head of the Duke in every relation of his life.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane Porter
British Dictionary definitions for curse
/ (kɜːs) /
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
the curse informal menstruation or a menstrual period
(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
Origin of curse
1Derived forms of curse
- curser, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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