curse
verb · noun
Simple meaning
Wish harm upon.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kursIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɝs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Wish harm upon; invoke evil upon
“The bad witch cursed the child.”
To call upon divine or supernatural power to send injury upon; to imprecate evil upon; to execrate.
To bring great evil upon; to be the cause of serious harm or unhappiness to; to furnish with that which will be a cause of deep trouble; to afflict or injure grievously; to harass or torment.
Heap obscenities upon
“The taxi driver who felt he didn't get a high enough tip cursed the passenger.”
transitive
To place a curse upon (a person or object).
intransitive
To use offensive or morally inappropriate language.
noun
A prayer or imprecation that harm may befall someone.
An evil spell
“A witch put a curse on his whole family.”
The cause of great harm, evil, or misfortune; that which brings evil or severe affliction; torment.
A vulgar epithet.
A supernatural detriment or hindrance; a bane.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Wish harm upon; invoke evil upon
Used this way, curse is a common word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“The bad witch cursed the child.”
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Wish / callverb
“The bad witch cursed the child.”
Heapverb
“The taxi driver who felt he didn't get a high enough tip cursed the passenger.”
More ways to use curse
- “A witch put a curse on his whole family.”noun
- “The taxi driver who felt he didn't get a high enough tip cursed the passenger.”verb
- “The bad witch cursed the child.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Deserving a curse.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Indicator consisting of a movable spot of light (an icon) on a visual display.
Rapid handwriting in which letters are set down in full and are cursively connected within words without lifting the writing implement from the paper.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Annual herb growing in marshy places.
Profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger.
Someone who imports or exports without paying duties.
A communicable infection transmitted by sexual intercourse or genital contact.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: prayer or imprecation that harm may befall someone
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.