curses 1 of 2

noun

plural of curse
1
as in condemnations
a prayer that harm will come to someone uttered a curse upon his persecutor from the scaffold

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2
as in swears
a disrespectful or indecent word or expression started muttering curses after hitting his thumb with the hammer

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3
as in threats
a source of harm or misfortune intolerance of personal differences is a curse of humanity

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curses

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of curse
1
as in condemns
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

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2
as in plagues
to cause persistent suffering to misfortunes and problems seem to have cursed everyone ever associated with that house

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in cusses
to use offensive or indecent language you'll have to put a quarter in the jar every time you curse

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4
as in blames
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

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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 curses
Noun
The cumulative impression of Alice that the book leaves is of someone moving serenely through life, meeting fond blessings and awful curses both with the same calm equanimity. — Ian Penman, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026 The woods could be hiding places of witches and sorcerers, disguised as the old and feeble, but capable of summoning wonder and terrors, charms as well as curses. — Literary Hub, 30 July 2026 Directed by Sébastien Vanicek (2023’s Infested), the follow-up to 2023 reboot Evil Dead Rise stars Wednesday‘s Hunter Doohan in a story about curses lingering too long in a family and the undead that haunts them. — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 7 July 2026 Morgan and her Judgment Day cronies tried to bribe Danhausen to put curses on their opponents. — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 28 June 2026 In baseball, curses are no joking matter, and the Curse of the FTD Burger might now have befallen the team. — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2026 Their greatest gifts are their biggest curses. — Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 18 June 2026 Mostly, the show is an eccentric yet seamless mix of black humor and horror, with Wyck trying to convince Loftis that the island’s curses are real. — Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2026 In Philadelphia, statue curses live on through the city's sports lore. — Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 15 June 2026
Verb
In one of the film's most surprising sequences, his character golfs the best game of his life during a terrifying storm, misses a putt, curses God, and gets struck by lightning. — Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 28 May 2026 Unclear if Instagram curses are transferrable. — Clio Chang, Curbed, 18 Dec. 2025 The driver curses at those outside and inside the car. — Jason Kravarik, CNN Money, 13 Nov. 2025 In a beat of levity that carries new weight, Geralt quietly curses afterward. — Jp Mangalindan, Time, 30 Oct. 2025 Liam Perino curses in front of his parents. — Matthew Shen Goodman, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for curses
  1. condemnations
  2. swears
  3. threats
  4. condemns
  5. plagues
  6. cusses
  7. blames
  8. censures
Noun
  • In response, Washington has issued diplomatic condemnations against Latin American officials, revoked visas, and even threatened to use force against the region’s governments.
    — Natalia Cote-Muñoz, Foreign Affairs, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Infantino has been on the receiving end of an international deluge of condemnations over his plan to secure private funding for the world’s most prestigious soccer competition.
    — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of condemnations
Noun
  • The event finds more than 20,000 people participating in an annual bar crawl throughout the city while dressed in their best holiday attire, tackiest Santa Claus costumes, and ugliest Christmas swears.
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Kennedy could be heard hurling swears at the Swedish team.
    — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 23 Feb. 2026
Definition of swears
Noun
  • Automated systems now make decisions and respond to threats at increasingly high speeds.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Despite threats of a blockade of the Red Sea’s Bab-al-Mandeb strait from Iran’s Houthi allies, ship traffic has been flowing at a close-to-normal clip through that waterway in recent weeks.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of threats
Verb
  • The outlaw country legend issued a rallying cry across his social media channels on Tuesday, sharing a statement that condemns rapidly escalating data center construction across the United States.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 29 July 2026
  • The Illinois Nurses Association strongly condemns Prime’s attempts to permanently close the unit, said Kaitlynd French, who was previously a nurse at the hospital and now works as the union’s staff representative for the nurses there.
    — Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune, 8 July 2026
Definition of condemns
Verb
  • More bureaucracy — in the form of the new stand-alone Department of Gun Violence Reduction — while well-intentioned, isn’t the panacea to what plagues our city, especially as whoever is appointed head of this new department will enjoy too much independence from the mayor.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2026
  • Odd moment plagues fourth quarter As the Knicks held on to their fairly sizable lead, a fan ran onto the court, tried to take a selfie with Wembanyama but was quickly apprehended by security.
    — Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 4 June 2026
Definition of plagues
Verb
  • In that moment, Dupree involuntarily punches him and the pair go quiet as Dooley cusses and bends over wincing in pain.
    — Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 2 Oct. 2025
Definition of cusses
Verb
  • Forchion blames the city for the crime, saying there is a lack of police patrols.
    — Ryan Hughes, CBS News, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Hasina blames uprising on 'coordinated assault' Instead, Hasina on Wednesday blamed the violence on the protesters.
    — Shamim Chowdhury, NPR, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of blames
Noun
  • Still, the desire to avoid a cycle of censures could prompt even the most moderate Republicans to vote against the censure.
    — Emily Brooks, The Hill, 22 Feb. 2026
  • Aside from the financial cost to the city, Blain’s behavior prompted several council actions, including two censures.
    — Susan Gill Vardon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Dec. 2025
Definition of censures

Browse Nearby Words

cursedness
curses
cursing
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Cite this Entry

“Curses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/curses. Accessed 12 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of curses for Spanish Speakers

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