damnedest

American  

[dam-dist] / ˈdæm dɪst /

noun

1. best; utmost.

   They did their damnedest to finish on time.

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adjective

1. most amazing or extraordinary.

   It was the damnedest coincidence, running into her in Paris after all these years of avoiding each other in Atlanta.

damnedest British  

/ ˈdæmdɪst /

noun

1. informal utmost; best (esp in the phrases do or try one's damnedest )

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Etymology

Origin of damnedest

First recorded in 1820–30; damned + -est ¹

Example Sentences

"It can't achieve strategic surprise but it will try its damnedest to achieve operational and tactical surprise. That will involve concealment, camouflage, deception, misinformation which they used quite successfully last autumn."

From Reuters • Jun. 14, 2023

To that moment, he had done his damnedest.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2022

Bernard called it “controlled confidence,” and it looked just as much like unmitigated energy, and the whole dance reached its hilt in the damnedest sequence amid the third quarter.

From Washington Post • Nov. 13, 2021

Much of the evening was a tug of war between the bands doing their damnedest to keep the crowd engaged and fans pulling back to an understandably rigid posture.

From Seattle Times • May 13, 2021

“Colonel, I watched that from above. Colonel, that was the damnedest thing I ever saw.”

From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara