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to accurse

to accurse

15 9.9
To say that someone will have bad luck or be punished
  • verb
  • /əˈkɜrs/
  • Archaic
translation icon : maldecir
  • This town is accursed.
  • sacred and accursed

Examples

  • If any escape me, their seed shall be scattered and accursed forever!

  • From then on, I think I was a man accursed.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • The location would be known as a place of death, an accursed place, and left alone.

    Blog text (12)
  • In my village, there were lucky families and accursed families.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Ah, but tomorrow was too late; he had to get out today, now, had to leave behind this accursed island.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Get that accursed Italian magic thing out of my house.

  • For this offense, be thou accursed of God.

  • Perhaps an offering to the local deity will help us find a way out of this accursed place.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • I seek protection in Allah from the accursed Satan.

  • The witch promised to accurse anyone who disturbed her resting place.

Synonyms

to beshrew
vsto accurse
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To wish bad things to happen to someone

is less archaic and more often solemn or ritualized
to anathematize
vsto accurse
  • Formal
1 9.9

To officially say that something is evil and must be rejected

is broader meaning to declare someone under doom without formal ritual
to comminate
vsto accurse
  • Archaic
9.9

To threaten someone with God's punishment or say they are cursed

is a more general act of declaring someone under doom rather than only solemn threats
to anathemize
vsto accurse
  • Formal
9.9

To say in public that someone or something is evil and should be avoided

is more focused on solemn divine punishment or formal threats
to bedamn
vsto accurse
  • Offensive
9.9

To wish harm or a curse on someone

is typically more formal and may include solemn threats of divine punishment

How Cursed

to execrate
  • Formal
1 9.9
to accurse
  • Archaic
15 9.9
to curse
244 4.8
to damn
  • NSFW
275 3.9

Surface Forms

accurse infinitive
acursed past
acursed past participle
acursing present participle
acurses third person singular

Morphology

accurse = curse (transparent) = ac + curse

Formed by the addition of 'ac-' to the verb 'curse', yielding the verb meaning 'to curse', so the sense is directly derivable from the base.

Etymology

The word accurse starts with the part a- meaning 'to' or 'on' and the familiar word curse, which is an 'evil wish' or wish for harm. So to accurse someone is to 'put a curse on' them or say they are doomed.