malediction

noun

mal·​e·​dic·​tion ˌma-lə-ˈdik-shən 

: curse, execration

I taunted him, ridiculed him, and loaded him with maledictions

—Sir Walter Scott

maledictory

ˌma-lə-ˈdik-t(ə-)rē 

adjective

Did you know?

Malediction, which at one time could also refer to slander or to the condition of being reviled or slandered, derives (via Middle English and Late Latin) from the Latin verb maledicere, meaning "to speak evil of" or "to curse." "Maledicere," in turn, was formed by combining the Latin words male, meaning "badly," and "dicere," "to speak" or "to say." You may recognize both of those component parts, as each has made a significant contribution to the English language. "Male" is the ancestor of such words as "malady," "malevolent," and "malign"; "dicere" gives us "contradict," "dictate," "diction," "edict" and "prediction," just to name a few.

Synonyms

• anathema
• ban
• curse
• execration
• imprecation
• malison
• winze [Scottish]

Examples of malediction in a Sentence

the two old women began casting aspersions and heaping maledictions upon one another

Recent Examples on the Web

Whatever the reason—gold lust, bad luck, a malediction—the Prince de Conty continues to bring ill fortune upon those in its ambit, even two hundred and seventy-eight years after its demise. —Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 22 July 2024

Without faith, youth is open more to destructive secular influences similar to fatherless children being open to the maledictions of gangs rather than the counsels found in a loving and caring and attentive two-parent home. —Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 27 Feb. 2024

What’s more, Presence imbues the song with a story centered around death, misfortune, and perhaps even malediction. —Spin Contributor, SPIN, 11 Mar. 2024

Despite this Sisyphean malediction, with each call for new proposals, the community still tries to push its boulder back to the mountaintop. —Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 2 June 2021

But perhaps the malediction presently heaped upon them will give them pause in the future. —Winston Groom, WSJ, 4 Dec. 2018

Their language seemed perfectly suited for songs and maledictions. —Linda Kinstler, Longreads, 27 June 2018

Word History

Etymology

Middle English malediccioun, from Late Latin malediction-, maledictio, from maledicere to curse, from Latin, to speak evil of, from male badly + dicere to speak, say — more at mal-, diction

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

malediction

noun

male·​dic·​tion

ˌmal-ə-ˈdik-shən

: a prayer for harm to come to someone : curse