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# curse

«curse» in Mova's school dictionary: **a magic spell or wish that something bad will happen to…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a curse, curses); verb (curse, curses, cursed, cursing)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A curse is a magic spell or wish that something bad will happen to someone, as in fairy tales. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curse/#m1)

2) A curse is a rude or swear word that someone says when angry. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curse/#m2)

3) (verb) To curse is to swear or use bad words, or to say angry things. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curse/#m3)

4) (verb) To curse someone is to put a magic spell on them. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curse/#m4)

5) A curse can be something that causes lots of trouble, like a long-lasting problem. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curse/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

In fairy tales and myths witches put curses on princes and castles; in everyday life «cursing» means swearing, which is not allowed at school. It tells the reader a character is very angry or under bad magic. Phrases: put a curse on, under a curse, curse under your breath, the curse of.

### examples

- The wicked witch put a curse on the princess. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curse/#x1)
- The castle was under a curse for a hundred years. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curse/#x2)
- He cursed when he stubbed his toe. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curse/#x3)
- Please don't curse in the classroom. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curse/#x4)
- She cursed under her breath when the bus drove away. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curse/#x5)
- The rain was the curse of our camping trip. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curse/#x6)
- The curse was broken when the frog was kissed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curse/#x7)
- ‘These flowers are under a curse. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curse/#x8)

### note

Countable: a curse, curses. Past: cursed (said «curst»; the old adjective «cursed» can be said CUR-sed). «Cursing» and «swearing» mean the same in everyday talk. Myth: curses in stories are not real magic.

### In the corpora

- ["Gosh darn it" is an American polite form of the curse "God damn it".](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/37-bats-and-gosh/23/)
- [The curse of Tutankhamun is a newspaper legend; most people who opened the tomb lived long lives.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/history/5-ancient-egypt-the-nile-and-the-pharaohs/13/)
- [In any week some bad luck happens to everyone, so a "curse" can always find something to blame.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/161-lucky-socks-and-grandmas-superstitions/20/)
- [Better marks come from practice, not from mirrors, shoes on tables or the end of a curse.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/161-lucky-socks-and-grandmas-superstitions/21/)
- [And now cursed art thou from the ground, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.100/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «curse» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curse/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.