malediction
/ˌmalɪˈdɪkʃ(ə)n
/noun
A magical word or phrase uttered with the intention of bringing about evil; a curse: he muttered maledictions to himself as he trod the stone passages...
- As Milton argues in A Defence of the People of England, kingship originates from the Fall, and kings issue ‘not from blessings but from curses [and] maledictions cast upon fallen mankind’.
- Mr Godfrey took the hint and sunk back in his seat, muttering maledictions under his breath.
- By ‘curse’ he meant ‘a real malediction,’ a ‘calling down of evil on someone.’
Synonyms
curse, oath, imprecation, execration;
anathema, voodoo, spell;
cursing, damning, damnation;
North American hex
archaic malison
Derivatives
maledictive
- They all have some sort of maledictive parting shot.
- Typically, a hereditary or maledictive were-king cobra will simply flee at the sound of such music, returning at a later time when its prey is unaware.
- Although he is a maledictive lycanthrope, and his bite does not create progeny werebeasts, the weregorilla phenotype is included here.
maledictory
- The answer given to this is that Balaam's words objectively speaking, maledictory or otherwise, were of no effect.
- Crumlin, in particular, made the most maledictory speeches then.
- This is the maledictory circle within which Dick's beings move and from which they have to escape.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Latin maledictio(n-), from maledicere 'speak evil of'.