1
as in spell
a spoken word or set of words believed to have magic power
if you tell anyone about this, I swear I'll put the whammy on you
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2
as in curse
something that brings bad luck
put the whammy on herself by publicly predicting that she would win the tennis tournament
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Recent Examples of whammy
The Kansas City area faces a weekend double-whammy as blistering heat gives way to powerful storms that could bring flooding and severe weather, according to the National Weather Service.
—
Kansas City Star, 8 Aug. 2025
The second quarter was hit by a triple whammy of tariffs, domestic inflation and sudden spikes in bond yields that made banner headlines.
—William Pesek, Forbes.com, 25 July 2025
Nadkarni: The Denver Nuggets trading Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson was something of a triple whammy.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 3 July 2025
But according to what has now become received wisdom among industry observers, the pandemic-era triple whammy of Pixar originals, Luca, Soul, and Turning Red, skipping theaters effectively rewired audience expectations.
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for whammy
Kansas City Star, 8 Aug. 2025
The second quarter was hit by a triple whammy of tariffs, domestic inflation and sudden spikes in bond yields that made banner headlines.
—William Pesek, Forbes.com, 25 July 2025
Nadkarni: The Denver Nuggets trading Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson was something of a triple whammy.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 3 July 2025
But according to what has now become received wisdom among industry observers, the pandemic-era triple whammy of Pixar originals, Luca, Soul, and Turning Red, skipping theaters effectively rewired audience expectations.
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for whammy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whammy
Noun
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Then came a barrage of three hurricanes — Gabrielle, Humberto and Imelda — forming in a two-week-stretch to end September, breaking an unusual quiet spell.—
Chris Dolce,
CNN Money,
6 Oct. 2025
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Beckham, Joey Barton (Marseille) and Joe Cole (Lille) all had a season in France’s Ligue 1 in the 2010s, with the former ending his playing career at Paris Saint-Germain, after a six-season spell at LA Galaxy in MLS which was interspersed with two loans to Italy’s Milan.—
Liam Tharme,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
Noun
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After coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the 2004 American League Championship Series, the Red Sox not only broke their World Series curse that year, but went on to defeat the Yankees in the teams' next two postseason battles in 2018 and 2021.—
Jackson Roberts,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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The Grudge Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is an American nurse living in Tokyo who is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse.—
Caitlin White,
Variety,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Is this an attempt at a reverse jinx to repay my karmic debt from my 2012 World Series prediction?—
Grant Brisbee,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
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But these low-risk hi jinx will encourage your own littles to try new things and take chances for the adventure of learning and saving friends.—
Katie Grant,
Parents,
24 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Whammy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whammy. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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