accursed
accursed Lexical Profile
accursed Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Under a curse; doomed to misfortune, misery, or destruction.
"According to ancient legend, the royal family was accursed after betraying their sacred oath."
Detestable, abominable, or infuriating; used to express strong annoyance, hatred, or anger toward something.
"The hikers spent hours trying to find their way out of that accursed swamp before nightfall."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Accursed' can be pronounced either with two syllables (uh-KURST) or with three syllables (uh-KUR-sid), with the three-syllable pronunciation being more common in literary, poetic, or dramatic contexts.
• Rhymes for accursed
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English 'acursed', past participle of 'acursien' (to pronounce a curse upon), formed from the Old English intensive prefix 'a-' and 'cursian' (to curse). The modern spelling with a double 'c' emerged in the 16th century through false association with Latin 'ad-' prefixes.