curse

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

v. execrate, damn, swear, denounce; blaspheme. —n. malediction, imprecation, execration, anathema; bane, plague. See evil, adversity.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [Malediction]

Syn. oath, imprecation, blasphemy, expletive, profanity, obscenity, vulgarity, sacrilege, profanation, execration, anathema, ban, hex, jinx, evil eye, fulmination, cursing, swearing, profane swearing, blaspheming, denunciation, damning, commination, objurgation, vilification, obloquy, swearword, dirty word*, blue word*, cuss word*, cussing*, naughty word*, bad language*, four-letter word*.

Common exclamations and curses include: plague on it, Lord, oh God, the Devil, bless my soul, bless me, by Jove, gracious, goodness, oh my, oh me, in Heaven's name, Great Caesar's ghost, the deuce, did you ever; gee*, gee whillikins*, gadzooks*, mercy*, sakes alive*, drat*, good night*, so what*, dang*, land of Goshen*, darn*, hang it all*, bejesus*, blast*, blimy*, by crickey*, Chrisamighty*, Keerist*, damn it*, damn*, double-damn*, goshdamn*, goshdang*, gosh darn*, by golly*, Chrisake*, damn-it-to-hell*, for cripe's sake*, for crying out loud*, Gawd*, Judas Priest*, Jesus H. Christ*, I swan the Deil*, Lord-a-mercy*, I'll be cow-kicked and hornswoggled*, I'll be a lop-eared gazelle*, I'll be damned*, I'll be a son of a gun*, I'll be a monkey's uncle*, God's teeth*, hell's whiskers*, hell's bells*, ye gods, ye gods and little fishes*, holy mackerel*, cheese and crackers*, holy bilge water*, holy smokes*, geez*, jeepers creepers*, ay caramba*, yikes*, shoot*, ach, Gott in Himmel, Gottlob, Donnerwetter ( all German)*, sacr? bleu*, mon Dieu*, diable*, cochon ( all French)*, diablo (Spanish)*.

2. [Trouble or a cause of trouble]

Syn. bane, evil, affliction, scourge; see affliction .

See Synonym Study at blasphemy . v.

1. [To utter curses]

Syn. swear, blaspheme, profane, swear profanely, use foul language, be foul-mouthed, be obscene, take the Lord's name in vain, use strong language, use invective, turn the air blue*, swear like a trooper*, cuss*.

2. [To swear at]

Syn. execrate, imprecate, damn, vituperate, abuse, revile, insult, call down curses on the head of, put a curse on, invoke harm on, call down evil on, anathematize, maledict, wish calamity on, blast, doom, fulminate against, thunder against, blaspheme, denounce, vilify, blight, call names*, cuss out*, put a whammy on*.

3. [To pronounce a religious curse]

Syn. ban, anathematize, read out of the church; see damn 1 .

Syn.- curse is the general word for calling down evil or injury on someone or something; damn carries the same general meaning but, in strict usage, implies the use of the word ``damn"" in the curse [ he damned his enemies = he said, `` Damn my enemies!"" ] ; execrate suggests cursing prompted by Great anger or abhorrence; imprecate suggests the calling down of calamity on someone, esp. from a deSire for revenge; anathematize strictly refers to the formal utterance of solemn condemnation by ecclesiastical authority, but in general use suggests vehement denunciation of a person or thing viewed as detestable

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

1. jinx spell, *evil eye, evil, *whammy, voodoo, charm, incantation, execration, anathema, damnation, malediction.

2. swearing oath, profanity, expletive, *gutter word, *cuss word, *dirty word, *four-letter word, obscenity.

ANT.: 1. blessing, benediction

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. A denunciation invoking a wish or threat of evil or injury: anathema, damnation, execration, imprecation, malediction. Archaic: malison. See WORDS. 2. Something or someone believed to bring bad luck: hex, hoodoo. Informal: jinx. See LUCK. 3. A cause of suffering or harm: affliction, bane, evil, ill, plague, scourge, woe. See HELP. 4. A profane or obscene term: blasphemy, epithet, expletive, oath, swearword. Informal: cuss. See DECENT, SACRED, WORDS. II verb 1. To invoke evil or injury upon: anathematize, damn, imprecate. Informal: cuss. Archaic: execrate, maledict. See WORDS. 2. To bring bad luck or evil to: hex, hoodoo. Informal: jinx. See LUCK. 3. To bring great harm or suffering to: afflict, agonize, anguish, excruciate, plague, rack, scourge, smite, strike, torment, torture. See ATTACK, HELP. 4. To use profane or obscene language: blaspheme, damn, swear. Informal: cuss. See DECENT, SACRED, WORDS.