1
as in curse
a source of harm or misfortune
regarding the new laborsaving machinery as a bane, the 19th-century Luddites went about destroying it in protest
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2
as in poison
a substance that by chemical action can kill or injure a living thing
a plant that is believed to be the bane of the wolf
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Recent Examples of bane
Bowl eligibility is probably a reasonable place to start, although nuance — the bane of Hot Seat speculation everywhere — could enter the calculation.
—
Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 18 Aug. 2025
For Ferndale businesses and residents, the commerce train is a bane of their existence.
—Ayah Imran, Freep.com, 18 July 2025
There was a time when the Mojito was the bane of bartenders back in the early aughts when the drink was popular but the craft cocktail movement hadn’t really found its sea legs yet.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 11 July 2025
The dome covering the telescope wasn’t working, the moon (bane of astronomers everywhere) was near full, and Sacchetti came down with an illness that nearly required him to be evacuated down the mountain.
—Harry Goldstein, IEEE Spectrum, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for bane
Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 18 Aug. 2025
For Ferndale businesses and residents, the commerce train is a bane of their existence.
—Ayah Imran, Freep.com, 18 July 2025
There was a time when the Mojito was the bane of bartenders back in the early aughts when the drink was popular but the craft cocktail movement hadn’t really found its sea legs yet.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 11 July 2025
The dome covering the telescope wasn’t working, the moon (bane of astronomers everywhere) was near full, and Sacchetti came down with an illness that nearly required him to be evacuated down the mountain.
—Harry Goldstein, IEEE Spectrum, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for bane
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bane
Noun
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Some monks who were once forced off the island put a curse on it and everyone who ever took anything away from it.—
Sara Stridsberg
September 15,
Literary Hub,
15 Sep. 2025
-
When her curse begins to affect her physically, Amada travels to the Abyss to seek a cure from the Grand Warlock.—
Mia Sosa,
PEOPLE,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Everybody agrees that social media promotes poison.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Where’s the spike in poison control calls?—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
After California came another business nemesis, Texas, where values dipped $32 billion.—
Jonathan Lansner,
Oc Register,
15 Sep. 2025
-
The Greeks warned that hubris invites nemesis, and nemesis brings downfall.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The smallest, what are called ultrafine particles, even slip through the alveolar capillary barrier itself, crossing into the bloodstream, and from there travel throughout the body, including to the heart, the brain, and the kidneys to initiate even more destruction and disease (see below).—
Bill Frist,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
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But the shot has been a life-saving public health intervention against the disease, which can lead to severe health problems, including liver cancer and failure, and death.—
Annika Kim Constantino,
CNBC,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In 2023, 20 steel mills and coke plants nationwide emitted nearly 2.4 million pounds of air toxics, 289,722 tons of criteria air pollutants and 43.3 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, according to the study.—
Maya Wilkins,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Sep. 2025
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Is there any hope of finding a way to take the toxic and turn it into a net positive?—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bane.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bane. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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