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View synonyms for damn

damn

[ dam ]

verb (used with object)

  1. to declare (something) to be bad, unfit, invalid, or illegal.
  2. to condemn as a failure:

    to damn a play.

    Synonyms: blast, disparage, denounce, censure, berate

  3. to bring condemnation upon; ruin.
  4. to doom to eternal punishment or condemn to hell.
  5. to swear at or curse, using the word “damn”:

    Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!



verb (used without object)

  1. to use the word “damn”; swear.

interjection

  1. (used as an expletive to express anger, annoyance, disgust, etc.)

noun

  1. the utterance of “damn” in swearing or for emphasis.
  2. something of negligible value:

    not worth a damn.

adverb

damn

/ dæm /

interjection

  1. slang.
    an exclamation of annoyance (often in exclamatory phrases such as damn it! damn you! etc)
  2. informal.
    an exclamation of surprise or pleasure (esp in the exclamatory phrase damn me! )


adjective

  1. slang.
    prenominal deserving damnation; detestable

adverb

  1. slang.
    (intensifier)

    damn fool

    a damn good pianist

adverb

  1. damn all slang.
    damn all absolutely nothing

verb

  1. to condemn as bad, worthless, etc
  2. to curse
  3. to condemn to eternal damnation
  4. often passive to doom to ruin; cause to fail

    the venture was damned from the start

  5. also intr to prove (someone) guilty

    damning evidence

  6. to swear (at) using the word damn
  7. as near as damn it informal.
    as near as damn it as near as possible; very near
  8. damn with faint praise
    damn with faint praise to praise so unenthusiastically that the effect is condemnation

noun

  1. slang.
    something of negligible value; jot (esp in the phrase not worth a damn )
  2. not give a damn informal.
    not give a damn to be unconcerned; not care

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Other Words From

  • damn·er noun
  • pre·damn verb (used with object)

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Word History and Origins

Origin of damn1

1250–1300; Middle English dam ( p ) nen < Old French dam ( p ) ner < Latin damnāre to condemn, derivative of damnum damage, fine, harm

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Word History and Origins

Origin of damn1

C13: from Old French dampner, from Latin damnāre to injure, condemn, from damnum loss, injury, penalty

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. damn well, Informal. damned ( def 7 ).
  2. damn with faint praise, to praise so moderately as, in effect, to condemn:

    The critic damned the opera with faint praise when he termed the production adequate.

  3. give a damn, Informal. to care; be concerned; consider as important: Also give a darn.

    You shouldn't give a damn about their opinions.

More idioms and phrases containing damn

  • do one's damnedest
  • give a damn
  • not worth a dime (tinker's damn)

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Example Sentences

It will be damn near impossible for any senior leaders to get their arms around the problem of extremists in the military as long as the Defense Department has so little data on how many service members have ties to domestic terrorist groups.

From Vox

Still, there are days when I can’t find the motivation—when it’s so damn cold that running would be pure misery.

Ditching the sidearms is more than just a shtick—it’s pretty damn smart.

If Modi asked his Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes,” he damn well would.

From Time

The existence of damning evidence — video footage, for example — can drive some resolutions.

But damn, the music is catchy—a neo-soul aural assault of horns, electro swirls, yelps, funky basslines, and harmonized vocals.

They even released a (pretty damn weak) hip-hop song on SoundCloud recounting their antics.

He had just as much right to be there as any other damn body.

Alongside YOLO, “same damn time” is one of the most memorable recent additions to the lexicon.

Hitch knows damn well that Redford gets pretty much anything he wants.

As young Mr. Hutchinson went out by the back way he heard someone say: "Damn him, he's upstairs, we'll have him yet."

But damn it, man, those units cost something like eighty thousand dollars!

How can we face without fear, a God whom we suppose sufficiently barbarous to wish to damn us forever?

"I wadna' gi'e a damn," said Peter Pegg, his big eye making frantic efforts to wink.

Very amusing how the reviews pick out one story and damn the rest!

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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