Antonyms

blessing, benediction, thank

All antonyms of curse →

Definitions

n. 1
A supernatural detriment or hindrance; a bane.
n. 2
The cause of great harm, evil, or misfortune; that which brings evil or severe affliction; torment.
v. 1
To place a curse upon (a person or object).
v. 2
To speak or shout a vulgar curse or epithet.

Related words

Phrases: curse word curse jar tinker's curse

Forms

Plural: curses → oaths, cusses, expletives, swearings…
Past participle: cursed
e.g. cursed → damned, bewitched, ensorcelled, maledicted…

Choose the right word

Curse, Anathema, Execration or Imprecation?

Anathema, curse, execration, and imprecation are modes of invoking vengeance or retribution from a superhuman power upon the person against whom they are uttered.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

plague Their first daughter died from the plague in 1576.
affliction That which is a feast to one is an affliction to another.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
curse		rising
expletive		rising
plague		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: ban¹, woe¹, hex¹
4 letters: damn¹, oath¹, doom¹, pest¹, bane¹, jinx¹, cuss¹
5 letters: swear¹, spell¹, shaft¹, thorn¹, wreak¹
6 letters: period³, plague¹, whammy², vilify³, bedamn
7 letters: trouble², courses², condemn², torment², nemesis³, scourge¹, afflict², bewitch², beshrew, accurse
8 letters: swearing², denounce², anathema⁴, vexation, execrate, ensorcel, maledict, unchurch
9 letters: annoyance³, profanity⁴, obscenity⁴, expletive³, blaspheme, catamenia, ensorcell, imprecate, comminate
10 letters: affliction³, execration, anathemise
11 letters: malediction, imprecation, maleficiate
12 letters: condemnation⁴, menstruation⁴, denunciation⁵, anathematize, anathematise
13 letters: excommunicate⁵

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (period³ = 3 syllables).

In other languages

Français: mauvais sort