accursed

American  

[uh-kur-sid, uh-kurst] / əˈkɜr sɪd, əˈkɜrst /

Also accurst

adjective

1. under a curse; doomed; ill-fated.

2. damnable; detestable.

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accursed British  

/ əˈkɜːst, əˈkɜːst, əˈkɜːsɪdlɪ, əˈkɜːsɪd /

adjective

1. under or subject to a curse; doomed

2. (prenominal) hateful; detestable; execrable

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Other Word Forms

• accursedly adverb
• accursedness noun

Etymology

Origin of accursed

First recorded before 1000; Middle English acursed, Old English ācursod, past participle of ācursian; a- ³, curse

Explanation

Use accursed to describe something that's under a curse or spell — or just seems like it is. You might call your car accursed if it keeps mysteriously dying in the middle of the road for no apparent reason. An accursed house might be haunted by a spirit or under an evil spell, or you might describe it as accursed if unexplained things happen in it. You can also use the adjective simply to describe something you're angry about: "This accursed town! I can't wait to move to California!" In the 13th century, the word was acursede, "lying under a curse," from the now-obsolete acursen, "pronounce a curse upon."

Example Sentences

Somehow, Kyle Shanahan keeps meeting his accursed fortune with a spirit of inquiry.

From Washington Post • Dec. 10, 2022

Every time prep comes back, I’m seduced by the tidy clothes, the accursed manners and the sense of authority that comes with all of it.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 9, 2022

It is “at once an accursed and a sacred place,” American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris said.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 3, 2022

Perhaps like those other accursed malefactors, you will refuse responsibility.

From Salon • Oct. 25, 2020

Gagging sporadically, the volunteer patiently scraped out the corpses, cooked up another sugar solution, and rehung the feeder, although already he was beginning to despair of ever attracting a hummingbird to his humble, accursed digs.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols