damned

1 of 2

adjective

ˈdam(d) 

damneder ˈdam-dər  ; damnedest or damndest ˈdam-dəst 

1

: damnable

this damned smog

2

: complete, utter

—often used as an intensive

a damned shame

3

: extraordinary

—used in the superlative

the damnedest contraption you ever saw

damned

2 of 2

adverb

: extremely, very

a damned good job

Synonyms

Adjective

• sheer
• utter
• damn
• unconditional
• simple
• absolute
• complete
• pure
• total
• definite
• very
• outright
• perfect
• real

Adverb

• damn
• extremely
• terribly
• very
• incredibly
• too
• badly
• so
• highly
• really
• desperately
• severely
• seriously
• jolly
• far

Examples of damned in a Sentence

Adjective

only a damned fool would say such a thing

Adverb

it's a damned fine day

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The show’s creators take this as a challenge and also do their damnedest to humanize this sci-fi comedy classic. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 6 June 2025

But there’s also something strangely freeing and exhilarating about this damned realm. —Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 21 May 2025

Adverb

While Nintendo mostly conceded the corporate tug-of-war over graphical prowess back in 2006 with the Wii, the general plateau of visual enhancements over the last two generations means that games running on Switch 2 look pretty damned good even compared to more premium devices. —Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 5 June 2025

This is typically where everyone’s hindsight becomes so damned good. —Eli Amdur, Forbes.com, 3 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1588, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

circa 1669, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing damned

• be damned
• damned if
• I'll be damned
• the damned
• whatever one damn/damned well pleases
• (you're) damned if you do and damned if you don't

Rhymes for damned

• programmed
• crammed
• dammed
• jammed
• rammed
• slammed
• diagrammed
• monogrammed
• preprogrammed
• reprogrammed