malediction

[ mal-i-dik-shuhn ]
See synonyms for malediction on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a curse; imprecation.

  2. the utterance of a curse.

Origin of malediction

1
1400–50; late Middle English malediccion<Latin maledictiōn- (stem of maledictiō) slander (Late Latin: curse). See male-, diction

Other words for malediction

Opposites for malediction

Other words from malediction

  • mal·e·dic·tive, mal·e·dic·to·ry [mal-i-dik-tuh-ree], /ˌmæl ɪˈdɪk tə ri/, adjective
  • un·mal·e·dic·tive, adjective
  • un·mal·e·dic·to·ry, adjective

Words Nearby malediction

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use malediction in a sentence

  • All things that are of the earth, shall return into the earth: so the ungodly shall from malediction to destruction.

  • And he said to me: I will shew thee what things are to come to pass in the end of the malediction: for the time hath its end.

  • And she stretched out her broom in an attitude of malediction towards the spot where Pritchard had disappeared.

  • At the most he would fling out some cryptic hint, bestow some malediction upon life in general.

    The Hidden Places | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • As Stapylton lay back in his carriage, he could not help muttering a malediction on the "dear friend" he had just parted with.

    Barrington | Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for malediction

malediction

/ (ˌmælɪˈdɪkʃən) /


noun
  1. the utterance of a curse against someone or something

  2. slanderous accusation or comment

Origin of malediction

1
C15: from Latin maledictiō a reviling, from male ill + dīcere to speak

Derived forms of malediction

  • maledictive or maledictory, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012