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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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

Synonyms & Similar Words
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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
That 2016 film introduced Johnson as demigod Maui alongside Auli’i Cravalho as the titular girl with exceptional navigation skills, with the pair teaming up to stop a curse from targeting her island. — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 11 July 2026 Everything the man is touching nowadays turns into gold for him and rot for the rest of us, a curse any smart person would avoid. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
Verb
Social media is like a blessing and curse, but the good part about it is that people who are seeing the show again or seeing it for the first time. — Brayden Garcia july 9, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 July 2026 Iraq, Canada, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Qatar, Saudi Arabia After accidentally cursing President Saddam Hussein on stage, theater actor Salem convinces a military court of his insanity to escape a death sentence. — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 6 July 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
  • This means private landowners may have more success challenging condemnation actions under their state constitutions than in federal court.
    — Aaron Walayat, The Conversation, 16 July 2026
  • Beneath the memoir runs a steady defense of everyday Beirutis and, equally, a condemnation of the world that distances itself from their pain.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 July 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
  • Finger joint strains are the bane of long hours spent daily on the computer, which is what led Melvin Wong, founder and engineer at Airra Labs, to build a better computer mouse – the Rotary Mouse, which is currently on Kickstarter.
    — Shirl Leigh July 12, New Atlas, 12 July 2026
  • Now, decades later, weekday lunches have become the bane of my existence.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 12 June 2026
Definition of bane
Verb
  • Speakers also explored the intersection between faith and democratic values, condemning discriminatory law enforcement practices and cutbacks of voting rights.
    — Sofia Williams, Sacbee.com, 16 July 2026
  • In March, Ben Saul, UN special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights, condemned both US and Iranian threats to target civilian energy infrastructure.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 15 July 2026
Definition of condemn
Verb
  • Entering Friday’s contest, Clark was supposed to be on a minutes restriction due to a back injury that has plagued her all season.
    — James Boyd, New York Times, 18 July 2026
  • But controversies are plaguing the league, Clark has become an unwilling symbol of racial polarization and GOP members of Congress are entering the fray.
    — Joel Mathis, TheWeek, 17 July 2026
Definition of plague
Verb
  • Baela isn’t sleeping or eating and is frantically seeking redemption after blaming herself for Jace’s death.
    — Brian Grubb, Vulture, 20 July 2026
  • This oversimplification blamed women’s lack of representation in leadership roles on individual women themselves.
    — Julia Korn, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
Definition of blame
Noun
  • After the censure on Monday, Hulsey again tried to exclude the city administrator from council business when the governing body went into executive session.
    — Rachel Royster July 8, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 July 2026
  • The escalation should start with a warning from the chair, followed by a motion of the board of censure (asking the owner to quiet down), followed by a motion to eject the offending owner from the meeting.
    — Kelly G. Richardson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 July 2026
Definition of censure
Noun
  • Senators Lummis and Bernie Moreno (OH) met with White House officials to discuss the bill and explore potential ethics language.
    — Cleve Mesidor, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
  • The film boasts an A-list lineup for its English language voice cast, with stars including Ayo Edebiri, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Finn Wolfhard, Rachel House and Werner Herzog.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 20 July 2026
Definition of language

Browse Nearby Words

curs
curse
cursed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Curse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/curse. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on curse

Nglish: Translation of curse for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about curse

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of stalwart

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
thumbnail graphic with text word of the day quiz
Weekly "Word of the Day" Quiz See how well you know each Word of the Day for Ju...
See All