1
as in condemnation
a prayer that harm will come to someone
uttered a curse upon his persecutor from the scaffold
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in swear
a disrespectful or indecent word or expression
started muttering curses after hitting his thumb with the hammer
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in bane
a source of harm or misfortune
intolerance of personal differences is a curse of humanity
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to imprecate
to ask a divine power to send harm or evil upon
I curse the guy who had the idea of having annoying salespeople call up innocent people to sell them things they don't want
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to plague
to cause persistent suffering to
misfortunes and problems seem to have cursed everyone ever associated with that house
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
4
as in to blame
to use profane or obscene language at or about
cursed him for showing up late, when he knew how important it was to be on time
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of curse
Jennifer Hussein, Allure, 30 Jan. 2025
The long-standing curse of the new-music concert is a tendency toward miscellany.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025
The building constructed by her dead husband collapses, strengthening Ivonne’s conviction that she is cursed.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 27 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for curse 
Noun
The verdict: Its flavor was nothing short of despicably vile, which made Orly’s nail-biting polish both a gift and a curse along my journey to end my bad habit.
—Jennifer Hussein, Allure, 30 Jan. 2025
The long-standing curse of the new-music concert is a tendency toward miscellany.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Verb
The moment the musician walked in, Burr cursed at Mandel and expressed frustration over the situation, though in a playful way.
—Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025
The building constructed by her dead husband collapses, strengthening Ivonne’s conviction that she is cursed.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 27 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for curse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for curse
Noun
-
The men appeared to be in better health than the three hostages released the previous week, whose condition drew condemnation from Israeli officials.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN,
15 Feb. 2025
-
Unfortunately, though, a recently viral video of Jewish celebrities launching just that sort of condemnation against West has been revealed to be unauthorized AI.—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
13 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The station asked the band not to include the swears.—
Kris Holt,
Forbes,
2 Dec. 2024
-
There’s a heavy focus on Asia’s first One&Only spa, featuring a green caviar body exfoliation and an Augustinus Bader facial celebs swear by.—
Katie Lockhart,
Robb Report,
11 Oct. 2024
Noun
-
There was a time when the Mojito was the bane of bartenders back in the early aughts when the drink was popular but the craft cocktail movement hadn’t really found its sea legs yet.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
7 Feb. 2025
-
For most of us, meetings are the bane of our existence.—
StackCommerce Team (Sponsored),
PCMAG,
3 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
The snacking giant, part of PepsiCo., will run a minute-long Super Bowl commercial for its flagship Lay’s that will try to do for potatoes in the Big Game what Budweiser has done for Clydesdale horses and Chrysler did for an American plagued by recession.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
4 Feb. 2025
-
The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye, plays a musician plagued by insomnia and facing an emotional breakdown in the official trailer for the suspense thriller Hurry Up Tomorrow, the first feature film from the pop star set for a May 16 theatrical release.—
Etan Vlessing,
The Hollywood Reporter,
4 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
In the wake of the extreme wildfires that destroyed more than 12,000 homes and buildings, some are blaming the destruction squarely on that.—
Lauren Sommer,
NPR,
11 Feb. 2025
-
After the 2023 Supreme Court ruling, which deemed affirmative action in university admissions unconstitutional, attacks on DEI proliferated, and the term became a right-wing bogeyman blamed for almost anything that goes wrong in any workplace.—
Kizzy Cox,
Essence,
11 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The first censure also cited comments Quirk made in the media about the plan to move the rail off the Del Mar bluffs that contradicted the city’s official position.—
Luke Harold,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Feb. 2025
-
But as part of the censure, the board barred Morris from taking part in deliberations and votes regarding the Hagekhalil investigation.—
Ian James,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
The Academy didn’t seem to mind, awarding the film 13 Oscar nods, the most for any non-English language film in history.—
Radhika Seth,
Vogue,
8 Feb. 2025
-
The social satire became the first non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
In one undercover video, which was recorded by Solis in Madigan’s office a few days after his No. 1 political nemesis, Republican Bruce Rauner, lost his reelection bid in November 2018, Madigan seemed positively giddy to have vanquished his longtime foe.—
Megan Crepeau,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Feb. 2025
-
Unbeknownst to Kaya and Elsbeth, Wagner does his bit for justice, urging the new-to-us Captain Kershaw to reopen the baseball bat murder case that made nemeses of Elsbeth and Judge Crawford.—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2025
Articles Related to curse
Thesaurus Entries Near curse
Cite this Entry
“Curse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/curse. Accessed 19 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share