tarnation

noun

tar·​na·​tion ˌtär-ˈnā-shən 

: damnation

—often used as an interjection or intensive

—often used with in

Most times I simply climbed on bareback … while the horse wondered what in tarnation a girl was doing on his back …

—Jeannette Walls

Where in tarnation you from?

—Jessamyn West

Examples of tarnation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Bot gets 1 point for guessing in three and another for beating me, which puts my nemesis in the lead for May at last — drat and tarnation! —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 17 May 2025

Drat and tarnation! —Erik Kain, Forbes, 26 Jan. 2023

But now, a problem — what in tarnation is all this stuff, these weird terms and phrases being bandied about? —Oren Hartov, Robb Report, 26 Sep. 2022

What in the wide tarnation is better on a winter’s day than the smell of something sweet baking in your oven? —James P. Dewan, chicagotribune.com, 13 Dec. 2017

The last thing Iowa needs is for its defense to run all over tarnation for 30 minutes while the offense stumbles. —Scott Dochterman, ajc, 15 Sep. 2017

Word History

Etymology

alteration of darnation, euphemism for damnation

First Known Use

1790, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tarnation

• ablation
• bination
• carnation
• cassation
• castration
• causation
• centration
• cessation
• cetacean
• chelation
• citation
• collation