1
: a prayer or invocation for harm or injury to come upon one : imprecation
People believe that there is a curse on the house.
2
: a profane or obscene oath or word
In an antechamber, his lieutenants suddenly heard the shattering of glass and angry curses.—
Sam Moses
Sam Moses3
: something that is cursed or accursed
"I … will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth."—Jeremiah 26:6 (King James Version)
Jeremiah 26:6 (King James Version)4
: evil or misfortune that comes as if in response to imprecation or as retribution
… intolerance is the greatest curse of every land …—Kenneth Roberts
Kenneth Roberts5
: a cause of great harm or misfortune : torment
His fame turned out to be a curse, not a blessing.
6
: menstruation
—used with the
cursed; cursing
1
: to use profanely insolent language against : blaspheme
cursing his god
2
a
: to call upon divine or supernatural power to send injury upon
He was cursed and fears he will die.
b
: to execrate in fervent and often profane terms
cursed by future generations unless we act now
3
: to bring great evil upon : afflict
a land cursed with famine
: to utter imprecations : swear
cursing loudly
Synonyms
Examples of curse in a Sentence
Noun
I heard him utter a curse before the microphone was shut off.
The witch pronounced a curse in some strange language.
People believe that someone put a curse on the house.
His fame turned out to be a curse, not a blessing.
Verb
He cursed himself for being so careless.
She cursed her bad luck.
In the book the evil witch curses the villagers.
Recent Examples on the WebLovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024
The question remains as to whether NMR spectroscopy is a blessing or a curse for gin distilleries.
—Eve Thomas, WIRED, 3 Apr. 2024
And this has been a generational curse of sorts, to have your family ripped away from you.
—Evette Dionne, SELF, 21 Mar. 2024
So when Jones and Johnson finally mended fences with his induction into the team’s Ring of Honor during the 2023 seasons, there were money who thought that this a break through was coming as the mythical Johnson curse had finally been lifted.
—Clarence E. Hill Jr., Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Feb. 2024
Getting hit by a pitch is either a blessing or a curse.
—Jon Hoefling, USA TODAY, 19 Feb. 2024
But remote working is a blessing and curse for employers.
—David G.w. Birch, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2024
In fact, the unprecedented access to social media currently available is a blessing and a curse, according to Anderson.
—A. Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez, Parents, 17 Feb. 2024
The new sales channel had quickly become for them equal parts blessing and curse.
—Jason Del Rey, Fortune, 16 Feb. 2024
Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2024
Whether or not the real dybbuk box is cursed is up for debate.
—Megan McCluskey, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
Yet the job has always been cursed with a kind of ambivalent status.
—Ron Elving, NPR, 30 Mar. 2024
After assembling the best of reality TV's baddies for a hilarious and meta first season, E!'s reality competition series is back with an all new roster once again featuring some of the most iconic villains to have ever graced (or cursed) the small screen.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 27 Mar. 2024
The anonymous extracurricular activity creates a ruckus and leads to pious fingers pointing directly at Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley), an Irish migrant and raucous single mom who does indeed curse like a proverbial sailor.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2024
Question: Rose is vilified for drinking and cursing just like men do.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
Women everywhere have many reasons to curse a blue streak.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024
Talking about this made up animal (and an assortment of other imaginary species) allowed internet users to curse, discuss topics considered taboo by the algorithm, and criticize government officials and their policies without risking censorship.
—Christie Taylor, Popular Science, 13 Mar. 2024
Noun
The politics of this fictional land boil down to an old story and an ancient curse.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024
The question remains as to whether NMR spectroscopy is a blessing or a curse for gin distilleries.
—Eve Thomas, WIRED, 3 Apr. 2024
And this has been a generational curse of sorts, to have your family ripped away from you.
—Evette Dionne, SELF, 21 Mar. 2024
So when Jones and Johnson finally mended fences with his induction into the team’s Ring of Honor during the 2023 seasons, there were money who thought that this a break through was coming as the mythical Johnson curse had finally been lifted.
—Clarence E. Hill Jr., Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Feb. 2024
Getting hit by a pitch is either a blessing or a curse.
—Jon Hoefling, USA TODAY, 19 Feb. 2024
But remote working is a blessing and curse for employers.
—David G.w. Birch, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2024
In fact, the unprecedented access to social media currently available is a blessing and a curse, according to Anderson.
—A. Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez, Parents, 17 Feb. 2024
The new sales channel had quickly become for them equal parts blessing and curse.
—Jason Del Rey, Fortune, 16 Feb. 2024
Verb
The programmer is cursed to write this code over and over again.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2024
Whether or not the real dybbuk box is cursed is up for debate.
—Megan McCluskey, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
Yet the job has always been cursed with a kind of ambivalent status.
—Ron Elving, NPR, 30 Mar. 2024
After assembling the best of reality TV's baddies for a hilarious and meta first season, E!'s reality competition series is back with an all new roster once again featuring some of the most iconic villains to have ever graced (or cursed) the small screen.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 27 Mar. 2024
The anonymous extracurricular activity creates a ruckus and leads to pious fingers pointing directly at Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley), an Irish migrant and raucous single mom who does indeed curse like a proverbial sailor.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2024
Question: Rose is vilified for drinking and cursing just like men do.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
Women everywhere have many reasons to curse a blue streak.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024
Talking about this made up animal (and an assortment of other imaginary species) allowed internet users to curse, discuss topics considered taboo by the algorithm, and criticize government officials and their policies without risking censorship.
—Christie Taylor, Popular Science, 13 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'curse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Curse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/curse. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
curse
1 of 2 noun1
: a calling for harm or injury to come to someone
2
: a word or an expression used in cursing or swearing
3
: evil or misfortune that comes as if in answer to a curse
4
: a cause of great harm or evil
curse
2 of 2 verb
cursed; cursing
1
: to call upon divine power to send harm or evil upon
2
3
: to bring unhappiness or evil upon : afflict
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