damn
- to declare (something) to be bad, unfit, invalid, or illegal.
- to condemn as a failure: to damn a play.
- to bring condemnation upon; ruin.
- to doom to eternal punishment or condemn to hell.
- to swear at or curse, using the word “damn”: Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!
- to use the word “damn”; swear.
- (used as an expletive to express anger, annoyance, disgust, etc.)
- the utterance of “damn” in swearing or for emphasis.
- something of negligible value: not worth a damn.
- damn well, Informal. damned(def 7).
- damn with faint praise, to praise so moderately as, in effect, to condemn: The critic damned the opera with faint praise when he termed the production adequate.
- give a damn, Informal. to care; be concerned; consider as important: You shouldn't give a damn about their opinions.Also give a darn.
Origin of damn
Synonyms
See more synonyms for damn on Thesaurus.comExamples from the Web for damn
Contemporary Examples
But damn, the music is catchy—a neo-soul aural assault of horns, electro swirls, yelps, funky basslines, and harmonized vocals.
The 14 Best Songs of 2014: Bobby Shmurda, Future Islands, Drake, and MoreMarlow Stern
December 31, 2014
He had just as much right to be there as any other damn body.
How Martin Luther King Jr. Influenced Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’Peter Guralnick
December 28, 2014
Who knew that a competition where you clutch the hand of another man and lock eyes across a table could be this damn gay.
High-End Pervs Film Benedict Cumberbatch and Reese Witherspoon Sucking FaceAmy Zimmerman
December 11, 2014
Fortunately, no one gives a damn about a Daily Beast reporter.
Sneer and Clothing in Miami: Inside The $3 Billion Woodstock of Contemporary ArtJay Michaelson
December 6, 2014
Dread is the feeling I get when something bad seems to be on the way, and I know that there's not a damn thing I can do about it.
Historical Examples
Shot a damn cock pheasant by mistake, and had to bury the thing in my own covers.
VivietteWilliam J. Locke
Damn if I want to see them gray eyes when ye tell about the little mare.
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
Damn little consolation to us when we're working it out in Dartmoor.
The Black BagLouis Joseph Vance
"Them damn' snake, him no speakum," he observed disgustedly.
Good IndianB. M. Bower
From "that boy who will go far" I became "you damn young freshman."
The HarborErnest Poole
damn
- slang an exclamation of annoyance (often in exclamatory phrases such as damn it! damn you! etc)
- informal an exclamation of surprise or pleasure (esp in the exclamatory phrase damn me!)
- (prenominal) slang deserving damnation; detestable
- slang (intensifier)damn fool; a damn good pianist
- damn all slang absolutely nothing
- to condemn as bad, worthless, etc
- to curse
- to condemn to eternal damnation
- (often passive) to doom to ruin; cause to failthe venture was damned from the start
- (also intr) to prove (someone) guiltydamning evidence
- to swear (at) using the word damn
- as near as damn it British informal as near as possible; very near
- damn with faint praise to praise so unenthusiastically that the effect is condemnation
- slang something of negligible value; jot (esp in the phrase not worth a damn)
- not give a damn informal to be unconcerned; not care
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for damn
v.
late 13c., "to condemn," from Old French damner "damn, condemn; convict, blame; injure," derivative of Latin damnare "to adjudge guilty; to doom; to condemn, blame, reject," from noun damnum "damage, hurt, harm; loss, injury; a fine, penalty," possibly from an ancient religious term from PIE *dap- "to apportion in exchange" [see Watkins]. The Latin word evolved a legal meaning of "pronounce judgment upon." Theological sense is first recorded early 14c.; the optative expletive use likely is as old.
Damn and its derivatives generally were avoided in print from 18c. to c.1930s (the famous line in the film version of "Gone with the Wind" was a breakthrough and required much effort by the studio). The noun is recorded from 1610s; to be not worth a damn is from 1817. The adjective is 1775, short for damned; Damn Yankee, characteristic Southern U.S. term for "Northerner," is attested from 1812. Related: Damning.
Idioms and Phrases with damn
damn
In addition to the idioms beginning with damn
- damned if I do, damned if I don't
- damn well
- damn with faint praise
also see:
- do one's damnedest
- give a damn
- not worth a dime (tinker's damn)