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to cursed with

to cursed with

3 7.4
To have something bad or unwanted that causes problems
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : cargado con
  • He was cursed with a chronic illness that affected his daily life.
  • blessed or cursed with

And in a sense that in there you have it in one image, that's what humanity has been cursed with since our birth.

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Examples

Synonyms

stuck with
vsto cursed with
137 4.6

Having to deal with something unwanted because you have no choice

describes suffering from a negative condition rather than only lacking choice
to plague
vsto cursed with
121 5.6

To cause constant trouble and suffering to people and things

describes the person suffering the negative condition rather than the causing action
unlucky
vsto cursed with
91 1.0

Having bad luck that causes problems

centres on being made to suffer a specific negative thing rather than general misfortune
laden
vsto cursed with
16 5.5

Full of a strong feeling such as guilt or sadness

puts emphasis on being made to suffer something clearly negative or harmful
weighed down
vsto cursed with
  • Informal
6 4.5

Carrying heavy things or having serious worries that make you feel tired

focuses on suffering from an unwanted negative situation rather than just weight
unfortunate
vsto cursed with
5 3.0

A person who has bad luck or a hard life

highlights active suffering or being forced to have an unwanted negative state
cursed
vsto cursed with
  • Literature
1 5.3

Having bad luck because of a magic spell, sometimes used to show anger or strong feeling

focuses on actually suffering an unwanted negative condition rather than just strong language
accurst
vsto cursed with
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Under a curse and likely to have bad things happen

expresses suffering from something unwanted in normal modern language rather than archaic tone
heavy-laden
vsto cursed with
1 6.5

Weighed down by worry or responsibility

highlights being made to suffer a negative state rather than general heaviness
burdened
vsto cursed with
3.8

Feeling very weighed down by work, problems, or responsibilities

is about being forced to suffer a negative or unwanted condition
saddled
vsto cursed with
5.1

Having an unwanted duty or problem you must deal with

means suffering an undesirable state rather than merely receiving a task
afflicted
vsto cursed with
5.9

Suffering from pain, illness, or trouble

stresses being burdened by a negative state rather than clinical suffering alone
accursed
vsto cursed with
  • Literature
8.8

Suffering bad luck and likely to have more trouble

uses a general idea of suffering from something undesirable rather than supernatural cause

Antonyms

3 3.4

Releasing people or animals who were kept against their will

How Burdened

afflicted
5.9
to cursed with
3 7.4
to beset by
9 7.0
burdened
3.8

Surface Forms

cursed with infinitive
cursed with past participle
cursing with present participle
curses with third person singular

Morphology

cursed + with

The meaning is directly compositional: 'cursed' = afflicted/subject to harm and 'with' links the afflicted state to the specific burden (e.g. bad luck), so a learner who knows both words can infer 'having to suffer or be burdened by X.' Although often used metaphorically rather than literally, the adjective + with construction is a common, cross-linguistic pattern and thus readily interpretable by a B1 learner.

Etymology

Cursed with comes from the old idea of a cursed person who has a spell put on them that brings bad things and leaves them with the trouble. So today cursed with means 'to have to deal with' an unlucky or unwanted quality or problem.