damn

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

• IPA^(key): /dæm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æm
• Homophone: dam

damn (third-person singular simple present damns, present participle damning, simple past and past participle damned)

1. (theology, transitive, intransitive) To condemn to hell.

   The official position is that anyone who does this will be damned for all eternity.

   Only God can damn. — I damn you eternally, fiend!

2. To condemn; to declare guilty; to doom; to adjudge to punishment.
   • Shakespeare

     He shall not live; look, with a spot I damn him.

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.
   • Alexander Pope

     You are not so arrant a critic as to damn them [the works of modern poets] […] without hearing.

5. (mildly vulgar) To curse; put a curse upon.

   That man stole my wallet. Damn him!

6. (archaic) To invoke damnation; to curse.
   • Goldsmith:

     […] while I inwardly damn.

damn (not comparable)

1. (mildly vulgar) Generic intensifier. Fucking; bloody.

   Shut the damn door!

• see also Thesaurus:damned

damn (not comparable)

1. (mildly vulgar) Very; extremely.

   That car was going damn fast!

damn

1. (mildly vulgar) Used to express anger, irritation, disappointment, annoyance, contempt, etc. See also dammit.

• See Thesaurus:dammit

• dang (euphemistic)
• darn (euphemistic)
• dayum (slang, emphatic form)
• dizamn (slang, emphatic form)

damn (plural damns)

1. The use of "damn" as a curse.

   He said a few damns and left.

2. (mildly vulgar) A small, negligible quantity, being of little value; a whit or jot.

   The new hires aren't worth a damn.

3. (mildly vulgar) The smallest amount of concern or consideration.

   I don't give a damn.

• MDNA, NMDA, mDNA, mand, nam'd