curse

Pluralcurses

Formscurses, cursing, cursed

1. 1
   doom by magicnouncountable

   A misfortune or hindrance brought on by supernatural power; a bane.

   Locals say a curse has hung over the house ever since its first owner vanished.

   Fans joked about the curse that had kept their team from winning a title for decades.

   UsageYou put a curse on someone or something; later someone may lift or break the curse.

   Similarhex, jinx

   Oppositeblessing

   Note

   A supernatural curse is sent or laid upon someone, as in the King James Bible of 1611, where the Lord warns, "I will even send a curse upon you." Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. bridwell.omeka.net
   • In Malachi 2:2, the Lord warns, “I will even send a curse upon you.” en.wikisource.org
2. 2
   swearverbintransitive

   To use offensive or morally improper language; to swear.

   When the engine died a third time, he began to curse and swear.

   Players who curse at the referee can be ejected from the game.

   UsageUse at for the target, as in curse at the referee; curse and swear is a common pair.

   Similarswear

   Note

   The pairing curse and swear is old: the King James Bible of 1611 has "Then began he to curse and to swear," and in Shakespeare's The Tempest a speaker who knows he is overheard still says "yet I needs must curse." Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. bridwell.omeka.net
   • The pairing “curse and swear” occurs in Matthew 26:74, whose narration describes Peter beginning “to curse and to swear.” en.wikisource.org
   • William Shakespeare wrote The Tempest. internetshakespeare.uvic.ca
   • In The Tempest, Act 2, scene 2, Caliban acknowledges that Prospero's spirits hear him and nevertheless says “yet I needs must curse.” internetshakespeare.uvic.ca
3. 3
   verbtransitive

   To bring supernatural harm or misfortune on a person or object, as by casting a spell.

   Legend says the old priest cursed the ring, dooming everyone who wore it.

   Visitors are warned that the gods curse whoever takes a stone from the temple.

   Similarbewitch, damn

   Oppositebless

   Note

   Bless is its exact opposite, and the two often stand together. In the King James Bible of 1611, Balak asks Balaam to curse a whole people: "come now, curse me them," where me means for me. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. wwwe.lib.cam.ac.uk
   • Balak asks Balaam to curse a people; the quoted wording occurs in Balaam's report of Balak's request in Numbers 22:10–11. en.wikisource.org
   • The quotation 'come now, curse me them' is exact. en.wikisource.org
   • In this construction, 'me' means 'for me', expressing whose benefit is intended. dev.gutenberg.org
4. 4
   wish evil onverbtransitive

   To call on divine or supernatural power to harm a person or thing; to wish evil on someone or something, or denounce them with loathing.

   He cursed the day he had agreed to the deal.

   Exiled from the city, the poet would curse its rulers in every letter he wrote.

   UsageA set phrase is curse the day you did something, said in bitter regret.

   Similardamn, denounce, condemn, revile

   Oppositebless

   Note

   A curse in this sense is a wish or a denunciation, not a spell that takes effect: the speaker calls on higher power, or simply speaks of someone with loathing. The King James Bible forbids it toward authority: "Thou shalt not … curse the ruler of thy people." Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The King James Bible forbids cursing the ruler of one's people. en.wikisource.org
5. 5
   source of troublenouncountable

   Something that causes great harm, evil, or misfortune; a source of severe trouble or torment.

   Gambling became the curse of his later years, costing him his house and his marriage.

   Her fame proved as much a curse as a gift.

   UsageOften the curse of someone or something; a blessing and a curse is a common pairing.

   Similarplague, affliction

   Oppositeblessing, boon, godsend

   Note

   Here the curse needs no magic; it is whatever afflicts a person or a people, often framed as the curse of: "The common curse of mankind, Folly and Ignorance," in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida (printed 1609). Plague and affliction are close neighbors, and like them it can name a habit, a trait or a condition as readily as an event. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • William Shakespeare wrote Troilus and Cressida. gutenberg.org
   • The quoted words occur in the play, spoken by Thersites in Act 2, Scene 3. rsc.org.uk
   • The play's first publication was in 1609. shakespearedocumented.folger.edu
6. 6
   nouncountable

   A prayer or spoken call for harm to come to someone.

   She called down a curse on whoever had stolen her savings.

   The ancient tablet records a curse against anyone who disturbs the tomb.

   Similarmalediction, anathema

   Oppositeblessing, benediction

7. 7
   swear wordnouncountable

   A vulgar word or expression; a swear word.

   She muttered a curse under her breath as the bus pulled away without her.

   The comedian's set was so full of curses that the network bleeped half of it.

   UsageYou mutter a curse under your breath or let out a curse.

   Similarexpletive, obscenity, profanity, cuss, cussword

   Note

   The bad word and the call for harm share a history. As Sam Leith wrote in The Guardian Weekly in 2013, swearing in the sense of dirty words is entwined with the other sort of swearing, vows and oaths. Expletive and cussword name the same thing, but curse keeps the older wish for harm in the background. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • Historically connected senses. theguardian.com
   • Sam Leith made the stated observation in The Guardian Weekly in 2013. en.wiktionary.org
8. 8
   verbtransitive

   To cause someone great harm or unhappiness, or to burden them with something that brings deep trouble; to afflict or torment.

   Fate seemed to curse the family with one illness after another.

   The region has been cursed by drought for most of the decade.

   UsageUse be cursed with to introduce the problem, as in cursed with a bad back. Compare blessed with.

   Similarafflict

   Oppositebless

   Note

   Pope used the active in his 1712 translation of Statius, with Juno asking that impious realms be plagued and cursed "with such Sons as those." Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Pope's translation of the first book of Statius's Thebaid was published in 1712. speccollstories.ncl.ac.uk

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