as in curse
a prayer that harm will come to someone
the defiant prisoner continued to hurl imprecations and insults at the guards
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Recent Examples of imprecation
The reality is that consumers could easily reduce their carbon footprints by changing their thermostats, buying smaller cars and driving more slowly, but few seem willing to do so despite the many imprecations from climate change activists.
—
Michael Lynch,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
The cabdriver—a scrawny older man—drives rapidly and erratically, cutting off other vehicles, muttering imprecations in an unfamiliar language under his breath, swerving in and out of lanes, blowing his horn to force laggard drivers to let him by.
—
Annie Proulx,
The New Yorker,
30 June 2024
For all of Trump’s imprecations against allies in general and NATO in particular, only one Republican senator, Joshua Hawley of Missouri, voted no.
—
William Inboden,
Foreign Affairs,
9 Nov. 2022
Dimly lit, the dancers enact a ritual, flailing their arms in imprecation, grabbing an outstretched flexed foot, bowing in subjugation but also drawing strength from the ground, from their roots.
—
Jeffrey Gantz,
BostonGlobe.com,
14 May 2022
That at times gives them the distasteful task of wrestling with demonstrators clad in prayer shawls, or facing down children who shout imprecations at them.
—
Noga Tarnopolsky,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Apr. 2020
But the music and the voices have turned harsh, and now Jew-baiting imprecations are fired like stones from slingshots.
—
Ben Brantley,
New York Times,
25 Sep. 2017
Michael Lynch,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
The cabdriver—a scrawny older man—drives rapidly and erratically, cutting off other vehicles, muttering imprecations in an unfamiliar language under his breath, swerving in and out of lanes, blowing his horn to force laggard drivers to let him by.
—
Annie Proulx,
The New Yorker,
30 June 2024
For all of Trump’s imprecations against allies in general and NATO in particular, only one Republican senator, Joshua Hawley of Missouri, voted no.
—
William Inboden,
Foreign Affairs,
9 Nov. 2022
Dimly lit, the dancers enact a ritual, flailing their arms in imprecation, grabbing an outstretched flexed foot, bowing in subjugation but also drawing strength from the ground, from their roots.
—
Jeffrey Gantz,
BostonGlobe.com,
14 May 2022
That at times gives them the distasteful task of wrestling with demonstrators clad in prayer shawls, or facing down children who shout imprecations at them.
—
Noga Tarnopolsky,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Apr. 2020
But the music and the voices have turned harsh, and now Jew-baiting imprecations are fired like stones from slingshots.
—
Ben Brantley,
New York Times,
25 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imprecation
curse
Noun
-
Morgan and her Judgment Day cronies tried to bribe Danhausen to put curses on their opponents.
-
The dust-ups might have driven the Honeywells away from their island paradise, more casualties of the lottery curse.
Cite this Entry
“Imprecation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imprecation. Accessed 4 Jul. 2026.
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