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Synonyms

damned

American  
[damd] / dæmd /

adjective

superlative

damnedest, damndest

  1. condemned or doomed, especially to eternal punishment.

    the wailing of damned souls.

  2. detestable; loathsome.

    Get that damned dog out of here!

  3. complete; absolute; utter.

    a damned nuisance; a damned fool.

  4. Informal. extraordinary; amazing.

    It was the damnedest thing I'd ever seen.

noun

  1. the damned, those condemned to suffer eternal punishment.

adverb

  1. extremely; very; absolutely.

    a damned good singer; too damned lazy.

idioms

  1. damned well, certainly or without doubt; emphatically: Also damn well.

    You damned well better say you're sorry!
damned British  
/ dæmd /

adjective

    1. condemned to hell

    2. ( as noun )

      the damned
"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

adverb

  1. (intensifier)

    a damned good try

    a damned liar

    I should damned well think so!

  2. used to indicate amazement, disavowal, or refusal (in such phrases as I'll be damned and damned if I care )

"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

Etymology

Origin of damned

First recorded in 1350–1400, damned is from the Middle English word dam(p)ned. See damn, -ed 2

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.

Many of our children’s favorite apps and social-media sites were built from the ground up to keep young users hooked and helpless to look away, consequences to their health and well-being be damned.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026

“In some ways, practices might be facing a Hobson’s choice, where they are damned if they do and they are damned if they don’t.”

From Slate • Mar. 17, 2026

How can Scotland beat Ireland when Ireland have such a stubborn insistence on being so damned good in this game?

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2026

Many of Ms. Allen’s favorite writers have been damned with the label “minor” and exiled to the literary gulags, far away from the reading public.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

Then it was gone, leaving the swirling crowd of the dead and damned, and Elena still before them.

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas

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.