curse 1 of 2

noun

ˈkərs How to pronounce curse (audio)
Definition of cursenext
1
as in condemnation
a prayer that harm will come to someone uttered a curse upon his persecutor from the scaffold

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2
as in swear
a disrespectful or indecent word or expression started muttering curses after hitting his thumb with the hammer

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3
as in bane
a source of harm or misfortune intolerance of personal differences is a curse of humanity

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curse

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to imprecate
to ask a divine power to send harm or evil upon I curse the guy who had the idea of having annoying salespeople call up innocent people to sell them things they don't want

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2
as in to plague
to cause persistent suffering to misfortunes and problems seem to have cursed everyone ever associated with that house

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3
as in to swear
to use offensive or indecent language you'll have to put a quarter in the jar every time you curse

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4
as in to blame
to use profane or obscene language at or about cursed him for showing up late, when he knew how important it was to be on time

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of curse
Noun
This, in some ways, could be a blessing for Harry and Meghan and a curse for those in royal circles. — Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026 Hamilton’s performance in the Spanish GP in September 2026 sparked headlines about the Kardashian curse. — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 14 Oct. 2026
Verb
Line judge Jeff Seeman was fined for apparently cursing at Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride. — Ryan Canfield Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026 And, in a representative bid of concern, the coaches are cursing in their news conferences. — Noah White, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for curse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for curse
  1. condemnation
  2. swear
  3. bane
  4. condemn
  5. plague
  6. blame
  7. censure
  8. language
Noun
  • The Johnson County pastor and the former rural doctor traded condemnations, repeatedly turning policy questions into opportunities to cast doubt on each other’s character and fitness for office.
    — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Under Ben-Gvir, Israeli police have increasingly allowed Jews to pray at the site, a deliberate provocation to the Arab world, drawing condemnation from Palestinian and Jordanian authorities.
    — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of condemnation
Noun
  • The pinky swear proved binding, as Nelson wrote the screenplay within six weeks.
    — William Earl, Variety, 15 July 2026
  • Why fill with swears a show that might otherwise have been appointment viewing for the whole family?
    — Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 31 May 2026
Definition of swear
Noun
  • Hauling crap throughout Tamriel has been the bane of many a gamer’s existence.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 9 Sep. 2026
  • In This Article Weeds are the bane of any gardener’s existence.
    — Alexandra Kelly, Martha Stewart, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of bane
Verb
  • The Israeli-American Council forcefully condemned his rhetoric as dangerous, dehumanizing hate speech.
    — Staff, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Sensationalist books, television specials, true-crime documentaries, podcasts, and talk shows have judged and condemned him without conclusive evidence, without a trial, and without an opportunity to defend himself.
    — Gustavo Egusquiza, Vanity Fair, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of condemn
Verb
  • Deloitte-run systems have been plagued by errors that can result in eligible people losing their health coverage, previous KFF Health News investigations have shown.
    — Samantha Liss, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The president used an antisemitic slur to defend Marshall’s history of suing patients for medical debt, a controversy that has plagued the incumbent senator in recent weeks.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of plague
Verb
  • That set off the wave of youth protests that blamed the collapse on high-level corruption and cronyism during renovation work at the station.
    — JOVANA GEC, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Anything this pair does for the next several months that is not together will be scrutinized, dissected, interpreted, and ESPN can only blame itself.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of blame
Noun
  • Israel might face its ultimate fear—losing the United States’s veto at the UN Security Council, which has protected its occupation since 1967 from international censure, even under critical Democratic presidents like Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama.
    — Aluf Benn, Foreign Affairs, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Football—besides being one of our more ubiquitous and unrestrained national entertainments—has also become one of the rare arenas in American life where highly specialized language can flourish without censure.
    — Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of censure
Noun
  • Axios Business Editor Dan Primack said Anthropic's S-1 filing marked a shift in the company's language towards using public markets to finance compute spending.
    — Ashley Capoot,Jordan Novet,Annie Palmer,Lora Kolodny,Kai Nicol-Schwarz,Caleigh Keating, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026
  • The vulnerability, called P2PShell, impacts a coding language that powers 70% of the world’s websites, enabling hackers to remotely execute code or gain access to information stored on servers.
    — Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of language

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curs
curse
cursed
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Cite this Entry

“Curse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/curse. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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