accursed

adjective ac·cursed \ ə-ˈkərst , -ˈkər-səd \

variants: or accurst play \ə-ˈkərst\

Definition of accursed

1 : being under or as if under a curse

an accursed people

2 : damnable

—

accursedly

play \-ˈkər-səd-lē\ adverb

—

accursedness

play \-ˈkər-səd-nəs\ noun

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Examples of accursed in a Sentence

the video store is charging another accursed late fee

Recent Examples of accursed from the Web

Then from each black, accursed mouth The cannon thundered in the South, And with the sound The carols drowned Of peace on Earth, goodwill to men!

— Anchorage Daily News, "Take heart, Alaskans, for the spirit of the season prevails," 23 Dec. 2017
Earlier this year the accursed Queen Elizabeth of England imposed Protestantism on her wretched subjects, who are now deprived of the consolation of the sacraments.

— erik spanberg, The Christian Science Monitor, "'A Column of Fire' is half historic epic, half thriller – all of it engaging," 12 Sep. 2017
And the Republican establishment, which loathes him, eggs them on, hoping to be rid of their mad, accursed priest.

— john kass, Twin Cities, "John Kass: Will flaying Trump bring us to normalcy?," 1 June 2017
And the Republican establishment, which loathes him, eggs them on, hoping to be rid of their mad, accursed priest.

— john kass, Twin Cities, "John Kass: Will flaying Trump bring us to normalcy?," 1 June 2017
And the Republican establishment, which loathes him, eggs them on, hoping to be rid of their mad, accursed priest.

— john kass, Twin Cities, "John Kass: Will flaying Trump bring us to normalcy?," 1 June 2017
And the Republican establishment, which loathes him, eggs them on, hoping to be rid of their mad, accursed priest.

— john kass, chicagotribune.com, "Will flaying Trump bring us to normalcy?," 30 May 2017
The other accursed soul belongs to Captain Salazar, a Beetlejuice-like wraith trapped in something called the Devil’s Triangle.

— michael o'sullivan, The Denver Post, "“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”: Long, loud and overstimulating," 26 May 2017
The other accursed soul belongs to Captain Salazar, a Beetlejuice-like wraith trapped in something called the Devil's Triangle.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' movie review: Argh! - again," 26 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'accursed.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of accursed

Middle English acursed, from past participle of acursen "to consign to destruction with a curse," going back to Old English acursian, from a-, perfective prefix + cursian "to ²curse" — more at abide

Note: The verb acursian is attested once in late Old English (glosses to the Salisbury Psalter, added in 1100 or sometime thereafter). The prefix a- may rather be a reduced form of on- than the old perfective prefix. In the 16th century spellings with initial acc- intrude, as if the word were a Romance or Latin formation with the prefix ad-.

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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