tarnation
8
9.9
- noun
- /tɑrˈneɪʃən/
- Archaic
:
tarnation
- What in tarnation is going on in here?
- Dang, tarnation
And so with the product, because I'm used to using either a pencil or like a pomade, what in the tarnation I'm trying, I swear.
- And so with the product, because I'm used to using either a pencil or like a pomade, what in the tarnation I'm trying, I swear.
Examples
-
Nathan, where in tarnation is Philadelphia?
-
What in tarnation do you think we're running around here, a danged burlesque?
-
What in tarnation is that thing?
-
What in tarnation is it?
-
What in tarnation are you here for then?
Blog text (12) -
Now, where in tarnation did I put those socks?
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Beth, where in tarnation are Marmee's opera glasses?
-
And then the door swings wide open and it's barefoot Grandma in her nightgown with her hair all mashed flat on one side, saying, "Tommy Cranfill, what in tarnation are you doing to that child?"
Fiction book (1998) -
Everybody who knew him—and that included all the settlers along the Monongahela and a fair number farther west on the Ohio—agreed that he was the biggest tarnation liar west of the Alleghenies.
Fiction book (1994) -
What in tarnation is going on in here?
Synonyms
55
8.2
A rude word used to show strong anger or surprise
24
9.9
A word people say to show mild surprise
17
9.4
A short informal cry showing surprise or strong feeling
3
9.9
An old word people say to show surprise or shock
1
9.9
A short old word people say to show surprise or strong feeling
1
9.9
An old word people say to show surprise or strong feeling
1
9.9
People say a strong angry word when they feel very annoyed
1
9.9
To say an old-fashioned rude word to show surprise or anger
1
9.9
An old Irish word said to show surprise or strong feeling
1
9.9
An old-fashioned word said to show surprise or strong feeling
An old mild word people say when they are annoyed
An old word that people say to show surprise or strong feeling
An old word people say to show surprise or anger
An old word people say to show surprise, anger, or shock
An old word people say to show surprise or strong feeling
A short old Irish phrase people say to show surprise or strong feeling
A short word showing surprise or strong feeling often used in Australia
An old-fashioned word people say to show surprise
A rude spoken word used to show surprise, anger or admiration
A short cry of surprise used to sound French
A short phrase people say to show surprise or strong feeling, often jokingly
How Emphatic
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word tarnation is an old-fashioned exclamation that grew as a softer form of damnation, and a helpful way to remember it is to imagine people saying 'eternal damnation' so quickly that it sounded like tarnation. That's why it was used to show surprise, anger, or strong feeling.