damn

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR damn ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

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!

verb (used without object)

to use the word “damn”; swear.

interjection

(used as an expletive to express anger, annoyance, disgust, etc.)

noun

the utterance of “damn” in swearing or for emphasis.

something of negligible value: not worth a damn.

adjective

damned(defs 2, 3).

adverb

damned.

Idioms

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

1250–1300; Middle English dam(p)nen < Old French dam(p)ner < Latin damnāre to condemn, derivative of damnum damage, fine, harm

Related formsdamn·er, nounpre·damn, verb (used with object)

Synonyms for damn

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR damn ON THESAURUS.COM

2. berate, censure, denounce, disparage, blast.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for damn

curse, darn, excoriate, expel, abuse, confound, slam, blaspheme, castigate, anathematize, penalize, imprecate, doom, sentence, proscribe, attack, convict, jinx, pan, cuss

Examples from the Web for damn

Contemporary Examples of damn

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 More
Marlow 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 Face
Amy 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 Art
Jay 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.
Awaiting the Grand Jury, Dread in Ferguson and America
Gene Robinson
November 16, 2014

Historical Examples of damn

Shot a damn cock pheasant by mistake, and had to bury the thing in my own covers.
Viviette
William J. Locke
Damn if I want to see them gray eyes when ye tell about the little mare.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
Damn little consolation to us when we're working it out in Dartmoor.
The Black Bag
Louis Joseph Vance
"Them damn' snake, him no speakum," he observed disgustedly.
Good Indian
B. M. Bower
From "that boy who will go far" I became "you damn young freshman."
The Harbor
Ernest Poole

British Dictionary definitions for damn

damn

interjection

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!)

adjective

(prenominal) slang deserving damnation; detestable

adverb, adjective (prenominal)

slang (intensifier)damn fool; a damn good pianist

adverb

damn all slang absolutely nothing

verb (mainly tr)

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

noun

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 for damn

C13: from Old French dampner, from Latin damnāre to injure, condemn, from damnum loss, injury, penalty

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

Word Origin and History for damn

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)