damn

verb, adj, adv and 2 more — 12 senses

damn

verb

UK /ˈdæm/ · CA, US /ˈdæm/

Etymology From Middle English dampnen, from Old French damner, from Latin damnāre (“to condemn, inflict loss upon”), from damnum (“loss”).

1

Lifestyle, Religion, Theology To condemn.

  • The official position is that anyone who does this will be damned for all eternity.
  • Only God can damn.
1 more example
  • I damn you eternally, fiend!
2

To condemn; to declare guilty; to doom; to adjudge to punishment.

  • He shall not live; look, with a spot I damn him.1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
  • Lack of access to support services can damn children with disabilities and lesser means to lives where they never harness their full range of abilities.2018 May 12, Stephanie Sinclair, “'What I Learned From Adopting Two Children With Rare Genetic Conditions'”, in Time, archived from the original on 05 Nov 2024:
3

To put out of favor; to ruin; to label negatively.

  • I’m afraid that if I speak out on this, I’ll be damned as a troublemaker.
4

To condemn as unfit, harmful, invalid, immoral or illegal.

  • 1708 November 8, Alexander Pope, letter to Henry Cromwell You are not so arrant a critic as to damn them [the works of modern poets] […] without hearing.
  • Homosexuality and suicide have some common characteristics. Both are damned by the Western Judeo-Christian culture as sins (although the latter has only been considered such since the sixth century).1976 February 14, David Brill, “Suicide”, in Gay Community News, volume 3, number 33, page 11:
5

Slang To curse; put a curse upon.

Slightly vulgar

  • That man stole my wallet. Damn him!
6

Archaic To invoke damnation; to curse.

  • c. 1767-1774, Oliver Goldsmith, letter to Mrs. Bunbury […] while I inwardly damn.

damn

adj

Etymology From Middle English dampnen, from Old French damner, from Latin damnāre (“to condemn, inflict loss upon”), from damnum (“loss”).

1

Slang Generic intensifier. Fucking; bloody.

Slightly vulgar

  • Shut the damn door!
  • Damn freaks!
4 more examples
  • Damn psychos!
  • The whole damn building came down!
  • Damn cultists are psychotic.
  • Where's that damn FOURTH Chaos Emerald!2005, Sonic Team, Sega Studios USA, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sega, PS2, GameCube, Xbox:

damn

adv

Etymology From Middle English dampnen, from Old French damner, from Latin damnāre (“to condemn, inflict loss upon”), from damnum (“loss”).

1

Slang Very; extremely.

Slightly vulgar

  • That car was going damn fast!
  • How are you damn quick?
3 more examples
  • You must be so damn rapid.
  • I damn well hope you never come back.
  • We're begging, damn near down on our knees, and not getting one red cent.1989 December 10, John Zeh, quoting Tony Allen, “AIDS Groups' Execs Arrested In D.C.”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 22, page 1:

damn

intj

Etymology From Middle English dampnen, from Old French damner, from Latin damnāre (“to condemn, inflict loss upon”), from damnum (“loss”).

1

Slang, Vulgar Used to express anger, irritation, disappointment, annoyance, contempt or surprise, etc. See also dammit.

damn

noun

Etymology From Middle English dampnen, from Old French damner, from Latin damnāre (“to condemn, inflict loss upon”), from damnum (“loss”).

1

Slang The word "damn" employed as a curse.

  • He said a few damns and left.
2

Slang, In the negative A small, negligible quantity, being of little value; a whit or jot.

  • The new hires aren't worth a damn.
3

Slang, In the negative The smallest amount of concern or consideration.

  • I don't give a damn.
Derived terms
72 termsa damn sight, ah, damn, bedamn, be damned, Billy-be-damned, damage, dammit, dammit all to hell, dammit to hell, damnability, damnable, damn all, damn and blast, damnation, damnatory, damn by association, damned, damned if I care, damned if I know, damned if one does and damned if one doesn't, damned well, damnfool, damn if I care, damn if I know, damnit, damn it, damn luck, damn lucky, damn my eyes, damn right, damn skippy, damn straight, damn sure, damn the torpedoes, damn well, damn with faint praise, damnworthy, damn Yankee, damn you, damn you all to hell, damn your eyes, damn your hide, dang, darn, darn well, dayum, dizamn, ever-damned, foredamn, fore-damned, give a damn, give a flying damn, give a good damn, give a tinker's damn, goddammit, god damn, goddamned, God damn, goddamn, goddamn you all to hell, gods damn, holy damn, hot damn, I'll be damned, near as damn it, oh, damn, predamn, pursuer rigged and parish damned, the damn, tinker's damn, undamn, well, damn

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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