Curse

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Curse, v. t. [AS. cursian, corsian, perh. of Scand. origin; cf. Dan. korse to make the sign of the cross, Sw. korsa, fr. Dan. & Sw. kors cross, Icel kross, all these Scand. words coming fr. OF. crois, croiz, fr. L. crux cross. Cf. Cross.].

•  To call upon divine or supernatural power to send injury upon; to imprecate evil upon; to execrate.  [1913 Webster]

  "Thou shalt not . . . curse the ruler of thy people."  [1913 Webster]

  "Ere sunset I'll make thee curse the deed."  [1913 Webster]
•  To bring great evil upon; to be the cause of serious harm or unhappiness to; to furnish with that which will be a cause of deep trouble; to afflict or injure grievously; to harass or torment.  [1913 Webster]

  "On impious realms and barbarous kings impose
  Thy plagues, and curse 'em with such sons as those."  [1913 Webster]

To curse by bell, book, and candle. See under Bell.

Curse, v. i. 

 To utter imprecations or curses; to affirm or deny with imprecations; to swear.  [1913 Webster]
"Then began he to curse and to swear."  [1913 Webster]
"His spirits hear me,
And yet I need must curse."  [1913 Webster]

Curse, n. [AS. curs. See Curse, v. t.].

•  An invocation of, or prayer for, harm or injury; malediction.  [1913 Webster]

  "Lady, you know no rules of charity,
  Which renders good for bad, blessings for curses."  [1913 Webster]
•  Evil pronounced or invoked upon another, solemnly, or in passion; subjection to, or sentence of, divine condemnation.  [1913 Webster]

  " The priest shall write these curses in a book."  [1913 Webster]

  "Curses, like chickens, come home to roost."  [1913 Webster]
•  The cause of great harm, evil, or misfortune; that which brings evil or severe affliction; torment.  [1913 Webster]

  "The common curse of mankind, folly and ignorance."  [1913 Webster]

  "All that I eat, or drink, or shall beget,
  Is propagated curse."  [1913 Webster]

The curse of Scotland (Card Playing), the nine of diamonds. -- Not worth a curse. See under Cress.

Syn. -- Malediction; imprecation; execration. See Malediction.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Curse, n. & v.
--n.
1 a solemn utterance intended to invoke a supernatural power to inflict destruction or punishment on a person or thing.
2 the evil supposedly resulting from a curse.
3 a violent exclamation of anger; a profane oath.
4 a thing that causes evil or harm.
5 (prec. by the) colloq. menstruation.
6 a sentence of excommunication.
--v.
1 tr. a utter a curse against. b (in imper.) may God curse.
2 tr. (usu. in passive; foll. by with) afflict with (cursed with blindness).
3 intr. utter expletive curses; swear.
4 tr. excommunicate.

Derivative

curser n.

Etymology

OE curs, cursian, of unkn. orig.

DEVIL DICTIONARY

Curse

v.t. Energetically to belabor with a verbal slap-stick. This is an operation which in literature, particularly in the drama, is commonly fatal to the victim. Nevertheless, the liability to a cursing is a risk that cuts but a small figure in fixing the rates of life insurance.

THESAURUS

Curse

Jonah, abuse, accurse, adverse circumstances, adversity, afflict, affliction, aggravation, aggrieve, anathema, anathematize, annoyance, bad influence, bad language, bane, befoul, bewitch, bitter cup, bitter draft, bitter draught, bitter pill, blaspheme, blasphemy, blast, blight, bugbear, bummer, burden, burden of care, calamity, cankerworm of care, cantrip, care, catamenia, catamenial discharge, charm, commination, condemn, confound, corrupt, courses, cross, crown of thorns, crucify, crushing burden, curse and swear, cuss, cuss word, damage, damn, damnation, damning, darn, death, defile, denounce, denunciation, deprave, despoil, destroy, destruction, difficulties, difficulty, dirty name, dirty word, disadvantage, disease, disserve, distress, do a mischief, do evil, do ill, do wrong, do wrong by, doom, downer, dysphemism, dysphemize, enchantment, encumbrance, envenom, epithet, evil, evil eye, evil genius, evil star, excommunicate, execrate, execration, exorcism, expletive, flowers, foul invective, fulminate against, gall, gall and wormwood, get into trouble, glamour, grievance, handicap, harass, hard knocks, hard life, hard lot, hardcase, hardship, harm, hex, hoodoo, hurt, ill wind, impair, imprecate, imprecation, infect, infliction, injure, irritation, jinx, load, magic spell, malediction, malevolent influence, malocchio, maltreat, menace, menses, menstrual discharge, menstruation, misfortune, mistreat, molest, monthlies, naughty word, nemesis, no-no, oath, objurgate, objurgation, obscenity, open wound, oppression, outrage, pack of troubles, peck of troubles, period, periods, persecute, pest, pestilence, plague, play havoc with, play hob with, plight, poison, pollute, predicament, prejudice, pressure, profanation, profane oath, profanity, rigor, running sore, sacrilege, saddle, savage, scathe, scatologize, scourge, sea of troubles, sorrow, spell, stress, stress of life, swear, swear at, swearword, taint, talk dirty, that time, the curse, thorn, threaten, throw a whammy, thunder against, torment, torture, trial, tribulation, trouble, troubles, vale of tears, vexation, vicissitude, vilify, violate, visitation, voodoo, wanga, waters of bitterness, weigh down, weight, weird, whammy, woe, wound, wreak havoc on, wrong

ROGET THESAURUS

Curse

Bane

N bane, curse, evil, hurtfulness, painfulness, scourge, damnosa hereditas, white elephant, sting, fang, thorn, tang, bramble, brier, nettle, poison, toxin, teratogen, leaven, virus venom, arsenic, antimony, tartar emetic, strychnine, nicotine, miasma, miasm, mephitis, malaria, azote, sewer gas, pest, Albany hemp, arsenious oxide, arsenious acid, bichloride of mercury, carbonic acid, carbonic gas, choke damp, corrosive sublimate, fire damp, hydrocyanic acid, cyanide, Prussic acid, hydrogen cyanide, marsh gas, nux vomica, ratsbane, hemlock, hellebore, nightshade, belladonna, henbane, aconite, banewort, bhang, ganja, hashish, Upas tree, Toxline (online), rust, worm, helminth, moth, moth and rust, fungus, mildew, dry rot, canker, cankerworm, cancer, torpedo, viper, demon, toxicology, baneful, poisonous, phr, bibere venenum in auro, Contingent Subservience.

Adversity

N adversity, evil, failure, bad luck, ill luck, evil luck, adverse luck, hard fortune, hard hap, hard luck, hard lot, frowns of fortune, evil dispensation, evil star, evil genius, vicissitudes of life, ups and downs of life, broken fortunes, hard case, hard lines, hard life, sea of troubles, peck of troubles, hell upon earth, slough of despond, trouble, hardship, curse, blight, blast, load, pressure, pressure of the times, iron age, evil day, time out of joint, hard times, bad times, sad times, rainy day, cloud, dark cloud, gathering clouds, ill wind, visitation, infliction, affliction, bitter pill, care, trial, the sport of fortune, mishap, mischance, misadventure, misfortune, disaster, calamity, catastrophe, accident, casualty, cross, reverse, check, contretemps, rub, backset, comedown, setback, losing game, falling, fall, downfall, ruination, ruinousness, undoing, extremity, ruin, unfortunate, unblest, unhappy, unlucky, improsperous, unprosperous, hoodooed, luckless, hapless, out of luck, in trouble, in a bad way, in an evil plight, under a cloud, clouded, ill off, badly off, in adverse circumstances, poor, behindhand, down in the world, decayed, undone, on the road to ruin, on its last legs, on the wane, in one's utmost need, planet-struck, devoted, born under an evil star, born with a wooden ladle in one's mouth, ill-fated, ill-starred, ill-omened, adverse, untoward, disastrous, calamitous, ruinous, dire, deplorable.

Painfulness

N painfulness, trouble, care, trial, affliction, infliction, blow, stroke, burden, load, curse, bitter pill, bitter draught, waters of bitterness, annoyance, grievance, nuisance, vexation, mortification, sickener, bore, bother, pother, hot water, sea of troubles, hornet's nest, plague, pest, cancer, ulcer, sting, thorn, canker, scorpion, dagger, scourge, carking care, canker worm of care, mishap, misfortune, desagrement, esclandre, rub, source of irritation, source of annoyance, wound, open sore, sore subject, skeleton in the closet, thorn in the flesh, thorn in one's side, where the shoe pinches, gall and wormwood, sorry sight, heavy news, provocation, affront, head and front of one's offending, infestation, molestation, malignity, causing pain, hurting, hurtful, painful, dolorific, dolorous, unpleasant, unpleasing, displeasing, disagreeable, unpalatable, bitter, distasteful, uninviting, unwelcome, undesirable, undesired, obnoxious, unacceptable, unpopular, thankless, unsatisfactory, untoward, unlucky, uncomfortable, distressing, afflicting, afflictive, joyless, cheerless, comfortless, dismal, disheartening, depressing, depressive, dreary, melancholy, grievous, piteous, woeful, rueful, mournful, deplorable, pitiable, lamentable, sad, affecting, touching, pathetic, irritating, provoking, stinging, annoying, aggravating, mortifying, galling, unaccommodating, invidious, vexatious, troublesome, tiresome, irksome, wearisome, plaguing, plaguy, awkward, importunate, teasing, pestering, bothering, harassing, worrying, tormenting, carking, intolerable, insufferable, insupportable, unbearable, unendurable, past bearing, not to be borne, not to be endured, more than flesh and blood can bear, enough to drive one mad, enough to provoke a saint, enough to make a parson swear, enough to gag a maggot, shocking, terrific, grim, appalling, crushing, dreadful, fearful, frightful, thrilling, tremendous, dire, heart-breaking, heart-rending, heart-wounding, heart-corroding, heart-sickening, harrowing, rending, odious, hateful, execrable, repulsive, repellent, abhorrent, horrid, horrible, horrific, horrifying, offensive, nauseous, nauseating, disgusting, sickening, revolting, nasty, loathsome, loathful, fulsome, vile, hideous, sharp, acute, sore, severe, grave, hard, harsh, cruel, biting, caustic, cutting, corroding, consuming, racking, excruciating, searching, grinding, grating, agonizing, envenomed, catheretic, pyrotic, ruinous, disastrous, calamitous, tragical, desolating, withering, burdensome, onerous, oppressive, cumbrous, cumbersome, painfully, with pain, deuced, Int, hinc illae lachrymae!, surgit amari aliquid, the place being too hot to hold one, the iron entering into the soul, he jests at scars that never felt a wound, I must be cruel only to be kind, what deep wounds ever closed without a scar?.

Malediction

N malediction, malison, curse, imprecation, denunciation, execration, anathema, ban, proscription, excommunication, commination, thunders of the Vatican, fulmination, maranatha, aspersion, disparagement, vilification, vituperation, abuse, foul language, bad language, strong language, unparliamentary language, billingsgate, sauce, evil speaking, cursing, profane swearing, oath, foul invective, ribaldry, rude reproach, scurrility, threat, more bark than bite, invective, cursing, cursed, Int, woe to!, beshrew!, ruat coelum!, ill betide, woe betide, confusion seize!, damn!, damn it!, damn you!, damn you to hell!, go to hell!, go to blazes!, confound!, blast!, curse!, devil take!, hang!, out with!, a plague upon!, out upon!, aroynt!, honi soit!, parbleu!, delenda est Carthago.

VB curse, accurse, imprecate, damn, swear at, curse with bell book and candle, invoke curses on the head of, call down curses on the head of, devote to destruction, execrate, beshrew, scold, anathematize, bold up to execration, denounce, proscribe, excommunicate, fulminate, thunder against, threaten, curse and swear, swear, swear like a trooper, fall a cursing, rap out an oath, damn.