I. ˈkərs, -ə̄s, -əis noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English curs, from Old English
1.
a. : a calling to a deity to visit evil on one : a solemn pronouncement or invoking of doom or great evil on one : an imprecation for harm
b. : any utterance marked by malediction or execration : oath
c. : evil effects brought about by a curse or by or as if by something cursed
a witch putting a curse on them
an ancient house and family on which a curse had long rested
2. : excommunication or anathema : formal and extreme church censure
3. : something that is cursed or worthy of being cursed : an evil, misfortune, or source of harm : scourge
intolerance is the greatest curse of every land — Kenneth Roberts
such curses as yaws and malaria — Robert Trumbull
4. : menstruation — used with the
II. “ or, as a vi & in vt sense 2c, ˈkəs verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English cursen, from Old English cursian, from curs, n.
transitive verb
1. : to rail at typically impiously and profanely : blaspheme
cursing his god
cursing his wretched fate
2.
a. : to utter words calculated to consign to great evil : assign to an evil fate : damn , doom
a blasphemer cursed by his gods
b. : to pronounce a formal curse on : anathematize , excommunicate
an act cursed by the high church council
c. : to swear at : call on fate to visit with dire misfortune and evil : invoke divine vengeance or anger against — sometimes used with out
he cursed out his treacherous ally
cursing his servant for his stupidity
3. : to bring evil on : visit with retribution : punish with wrath sometimes divine : endow to one's detriment : afflict , harass
cursed with misfortunes
cursed by society as always outcast
cursed by misplaced loyalties
intransitive verb
: to utter curses, oaths, and imprecations : swear
rebuked for his cursing
he curses too much
Synonyms: see execrate